worm

Pluralworms

Formsworms, worming, wormed

1. 1
   nouncountable

   Any of various long, slender, soft-bodied invertebrate animals without limbs, such as earthworms, flatworms, roundworms, and tapeworms.

   A worm tunnels through soil, mixing and aerating it as it goes.

   Gardeners value worms for enriching the soil.

   Note

   The word was once broad: Old English wyrm meant both "worm" and "snake," which is why older writing can use it for serpents and dragons. Today the small, soft, legless creature is the default meaning. Margery Allingham's The China Governess can liken gutter children to "little grey worms" and expect every reader to see earthworms.

2. 2
   computer programnouncountable

   In computing, a malicious program that copies itself and spreads across a network on its own, without needing to attach to another file.

   The worm exploited an unpatched server to copy itself onto thousands of machines.

   Unlike a virus, this worm spread without anyone opening a file.

   UsageNot the same as a virus: a worm spreads on its own, while a virus travels inside another file.

   Note

   Computing took the name from the tapeworm programs of a 1975 science fiction novel. The program copies itself and travels from machine to machine across a network. An email that forwards itself to everyone in an address book is the familiar picture of one spreading. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • A worm replicates itself and spreads between computers across a network without a host program. csrc.nist.gov
   • Email worms can spread by sending copies to addresses in an infected user's address book. microsoft.com
3. 3
   nasty personnouncountable

   A contemptible or devious person.

   The witnesses described their former boss as a worm who cheated his own employees.

   Only a worm would steal from his own grandmother.

   UsageA strong insult, often sharpened with little: you little worm!

   Similarscoundrel, rat, snake, louse, creep

   Note

   Contempt can point inward. In the King James Bible of 1611 the speaker says "I am a worme, and no man." Isaac Watts's hymn of 1707 asks whether Christ would die "for such a Worm as I." Both use the word to express humility before God. Calling oneself a worm now sounds devotional. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. guides.library.yale.edu
   • The quotation occurs in Psalm 22:6, with the spelling worme. kingjamesbibleonline.org
   • Isaac Watts's hymn Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed was first published in 1707. en.wikipedia.org
   • The hymn asks whether Christ would die for the speaker, using the quoted words. gutenberg.org
4. 4
   nouncolloquialcountable

   A maggot; the soft, legless larva of a fly.

   Worms writhed in the carcass beneath the summer sun.

   A pale worm crawled from the rotting fruit.

   UsageWorm can describe larvae found in fruit or decaying material. Maggot specifically identifies a fly's larva.

   Similarmaggot, grub

5. 5
   remove parasitesverbtransitive

   To treat an animal with medicine that clears out parasitic worms.

   Stables routinely worm their horses to control intestinal parasites.

   She wormed the new kitten the day after adopting it.

6. 6
   verbfigurativelytransitive

   To get oneself gradually or deviously into, or out of, a place, position, group, or obligation.

   The con artist wormed himself into the elderly couple's confidence.

   New advisers slowly worm their way into positions of power.

   UsageCommon patterns are worm your way into or out of something, and worm yourself into something. Often suggests disapproval.

   Similarinsinuate, inveigle, wheedle

   Note

   Andrew Orlowski (2021) has facts "worming themselves into every corner of our digital lives." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Andrew Orlowski published the cited article in 2021. en.wikipedia.org
   • Orlowski described Wikipedia-generated 'facts' as 'worming themselves into every corner of our digital lives'; the quotation is reproduced in an open Wiktionary mirror. archive.bukohome.com
7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To move slowly and with effort through a narrow or crowded space by crawling, wriggling, or twisting the body.

   The explorer wormed his way through the narrow cave passage.

   Recruits learn to worm their way beneath obstacles during training.

   UsageUsually takes your way, often with through or under: worm your way through the crowd.

   Similarwriggle, squirm, inch, edge, snake

8. 8
   nagging guiltnounfigurativelycountable

   A gnawing inner torment; a feeling of guilt or remorse that afflicts the mind.

   A worm of remorse gnawed at the old man for the rest of his days.

   She could not silence the worm that fed on her conscience.

   UsageUsually worm of + a feeling (the worm of conscience), with verbs of eating like gnaw and feed on.

   Similarpang, twinge, qualm

   Note

   Conscience has its own parasite. In Shakespeare's Richard III, Queen Margaret curses Richard: "The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul!"

9. 9
   dragonnounliterary

   A mythical wingless dragon, a gigantic sea serpent, or a similar monstrous creature like the legendary Mongolian death worm.

   Legends warned that a fire-breathing worm coiled around the hoard deep in the cavern.

   The saga describes a worm so vast that its body ringed the entire island.

   Note

   Fantasy and science fiction give the legendary dragon a second life and widen it. A genre worm may be a wingless dragon or a sea serpent. It may also be something closer to the Mongolian death worm, a monster built on the wormlike body itself. In these genres the word names a working creature type rather than adding period flavor. The surrounding description tells the reader which kind to picture. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The Mongolian death worm is a legendary creature with a wormlike body. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    gear screwnouncountable

    In gearing, a short rotating screw that meshes with the teeth of a worm wheel or rack, either driving it or being driven by it.

    Engineers fitted a worm to reduce the motor's speed and increase its torque.

    The worm meshes with the wheel's teeth to transmit motion at a right angle.

    Note

    In gearing, the worm is half of a pair: the screw is the worm, and the toothed partner it meshes with is the worm wheel. The pairing carries motion between shafts that neither run parallel nor meet, and it gives a large reduction in speed. In many designs the wheel cannot drive the worm back, so the arrangement locks itself in one direction. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The screw is the worm, and its meshing toothed partner is the worm wheel. en.wikipedia.org
    • Worm gearing transmits motion between shafts that are neither parallel nor intersecting. cs.cmu.edu
    • Worm gearing provides large speed reductions. web.mae.ufl.edu
    • Many designs prevent the wheel from driving the worm, producing self-locking. web.mae.ufl.edu

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