worm
IPA: wˈɝm
noun
- A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm.
- More loosely, any of various tubular invertebrates resembling annelids but not closely related to them, such as velvet worms, acorn worms, flatworms, or roundworms.
- (archaic) A type of wingless "dragon", especially a gigantic sea serpent or any kind of dragon.
- (fantasy, science fiction) Either a mythical "dragon" (especially wingless), a gigantic sea serpent, or a creature that resembles a Mongolian death worm.
- A contemptible or devious being.
- (computing) A self-replicating program that propagates through a network.
- (cricket) A graphical representation of the total runs scored across a number of overs.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
- A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms.
- The spiral wire of a corkscrew.
- (anatomy) A muscular band in the tongue of some animals, such as dogs; the lytta.
- The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to save space.
- A short revolving screw whose threads drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel or rack by gearing into its teeth.
- (obsolete) Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake, snail, or caterpillar.
- (figuratively) An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one’s mind with remorse.
- (mathematics) A strip of linked tiles sharing parallel edges in a tiling.
- (anatomy) The lytta.
- (preceded by definite article) A dance, or dance move, in which the dancer lies on the floor and undulates the body horizontally thereby moving forwards.
- (computing) Write once read many (or read multiple), with regards to a disc medium. See write once.
- A surname.
verb
- (transitive) To make (one's way) with a crawling motion.
- (intransitive) To move with one's body dragging the ground.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To work one's way by artful or devious means.
- (transitive, figuratively) To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.
- (often followed by out) To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means.
- (transitive, figuratively, in “worm out of”) To drag out of, to get information that someone is reluctant or unwilling to give (through artful or devious means or by pleading or asking repeatedly).
- (transitive, nautical) To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving.
- (transitive) To deworm (an animal).
- (transitive) To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of (a dog, etc.) for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw, and formerly supposed to guard against canine madness.
- (transitive) To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm.
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Examples of "worm" in Sentences
- _Man that is a worm, and the son of man, which is a worm_. "
- Most experts say the worm is a sophisticated piece of coding.
- IV. iii.182 (361,8) eyeless venom'd worm] The serpent, which we, from the smallness of his eyes, call the _blind worm_, and the Latins,
- And since it isn't clear how the worm is acquired or what it can do, should we simply shut down our nuclear power plants until we understand this problem better?
- This is a worm "_sui generis_," the mode of its propagation being entirely unknown; and from its being the only living creature (man excepted) that will devour this plant, [B] it is called "_tobacco worm_."
- To add to the confusion, Mondino dei Luzzi (1306) described the choroid plexus in the lateral ventricles as a worm which can open and close the passage between the anterior and middle ventricles, with the result that, in the late Middle Ages, the term ˜worm™ could refer to no less than three different parts of the brain: the vermis of the cerebellum, the pineal body and the choroid plexus
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