worm

SayWURM/wɝm/UK/wɜːm/

Pluralworms

Verbworms, worming, wormed

23 meanings of worm

Practice

1
nouncountable
A small, long, soft animal with no legs or backbone, like an earthworm.
Like a tiny living tube that pushes its way through the dirt.
The robin pulled a worm out of the wet ground.
After the rain, worms covered the sidewalk.
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2
computer programnouncountable
A harmful computer program that copies itself and spreads from one computer to another by itself.
Like a copy machine that won't stop: it keeps making copies of itself and sending them everywhere.
A worm spread through the office network and slowed every machine.
The security team blocked the worm before it reached other computers.
UsageA worm is not a virus: it spreads by itself.
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3
nasty personnouncountable
A nasty, sneaky person who cannot be trusted.
Like someone who sneaks around in the dirt instead of standing up honestly.
Everyone in town knew he was a worm who lied to get ahead.
Don't trust that worm, because he'll betray you the moment it helps him.
UsageOften said as you little worm!
Similarscoundrel, rat, snake, louse, creep
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4
nouncolloquialcountable
A small, soft, legless creature that hatches from a fly's egg.
Like a tiny soft creature you might see in spoiled fruit.
Worms had already gotten into the meat left out overnight.
My dog found a dead bird with a white worm crawling on it.
UsageFor a fly's young, maggot is the more exact word.
Similarmaggot, grub
5
remove parasitesverbtransitive
To give an animal medicine that removes the worms living inside it.
Like giving a pet medicine to clear the bugs out of its belly.
The vet showed us how to worm our puppy every few months.
Farmers worm their sheep before the wet season.
6
verbfigurativelytransitive
To slowly or sneakily get yourself into or out of a place, group, or situation.
Like quietly sliding into a group so that no one notices at first.
He wormed himself into the family's trust over many months.
Don't let him worm his way into your business.
UsageOften worm your way into something: he wormed his way into their trust.
Similarinsinuate, inveigle, wheedle
Note
7
verbtransitive
To move slowly through a tight space or crowd by crawling or twisting your body.
Like squeezing yourself slowly through a gap too small to walk through.
The cat wormed its way under the parked car.
She had to worm her way through the crowd to reach the front.
UsageSay worm your way through a crowd or space.
Similarwriggle, squirm, inch, edge, snake
8
nagging guiltnounfigurativelycountable
A painful guilty feeling that will not leave your mind.
Like a small ache inside that never quite goes away.
The worm of guilt kept him awake long after midnight.
A worm of regret gnawed at her every time she remembered the lie.
UsageOften a worm of guilt that gnaws at you.
Similarpang, twinge, qualm
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9
dragonnounliterary
A huge dragon-like monster from old stories, often wingless, like a giant snake or sea serpent.
Like the huge dragons in fantasy stories, but shaped more like a giant snake.
The hero set out to slay the worm that lived beneath the mountain.
Sailors told of a great worm that dragged whole ships under the waves.
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10
gear screwnouncountable
A spiral-threaded screw that turns a toothed wheel, used to pass on movement in machines.
Like a screw turning in a jar lid: the spiral pushes the wheel along, tooth by tooth.
The worm turns the big wheel slowly and with great force.
Inside the winch, a worm drives the gear that lifts the load.
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Less common meanings

11
nounarchaic
Any small creeping or crawling creature, such as a snake, snail, or caterpillar.
When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm! His mouth he opened and displayed his tusks; Not a limb had he that was motionless.
1867, Dante Alighieri, “The Divine Comedy”Here, worm means any creeping or crawling creature.
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12
dance movenoun
A dance move where you lie face down and move your body in waves to slide forward.
Like a ripple moving down your body, the way a wave moves across water.
He dropped to the floor and did the worm at the party.
Everyone cheered when she pulled off the worm.
UsageSay do the worm.
13
spiral shapenouncountable
Any spiral shape, especially the winding ridge that runs around a screw.
If the Worms of the Nut or Spindle be worn, the Spindle must be examin'd by the Smith
1683, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick exercises
Similarthread, spiral, helix
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14
verbfigurativelytransitive
To slowly or cleverly get something out, especially information from someone who does not want to give it.
Like slowly pulling a stuck thread until the whole thing comes loose.
She finally wormed the truth out of her little brother.
Reporters tried to worm the secret out of the official.
UsageSay worm something out of someone: she wormed the secret out of him.
Similarextract, wring, coax, winkle, pry
Note
15
corkscrew tipnouncountable
The coiled metal spiral on a corkscrew that screws down into a cork.
Like a small metal coil that twists down into a cork.
The worm on this corkscrew is bent, so it won't go into the cork.
Twist the worm of the corkscrew slowly into the middle of the cork.
Similarspiral, helix
16
gun barrel toolnouncountable
A spiral tool screwed into a gun barrel to pull out a stuck ball.
Like a corkscrew, but instead of a cork it pulls a ball out of a gun.
The soldier used a worm to pull the stuck ball from his musket.
He twisted the worm into the barrel to clear the jammed charge.
17
cooling coilnouncountable
The curved, coiled tube in a still where hot vapor cools back into liquid.
Like a coiled garden hose that turns hot steam back into drops of water.
The worm runs through a barrel of cold water to cool the steam.
In the old still, a copper worm sat in a barrel of cold water.
Similarcoil
18
clean a gunverbtransitive
To clean a gun barrel, or pull out a charge, using a spiral tool.
Like using a corkscrew to pull something stuck out of a tube.
The gunner had to worm the musket after it misfired.
He wormed the barrel to pull out the soaked charge.
Note
19
noun
A line on a graph that shows how many runs a cricket team has scored over time.
20
nounobsolete
A thin strip of muscle under the tongue of a dog or some other animals.
21
verb
To cut the band of muscle out from under a dog's tongue, once thought to stop madness.
22
noun
A row of linked tiles that share matching parallel edges in a pattern.
23
verb
To wrap thin line along the grooves of a rope before covering it.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of worm apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Old English wyrm, meaning "worm" or "snake." This goes back to older Germanic and Indo-European roots, perhaps from a root meaning "to turn."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Worm comes from Old English wyrm. en.wikipedia.org
Old English wyrm meant worm or snake. en.wiktionary.org
Wyrm derives from older Germanic and Indo-European forms. en.wiktionary.org
The Indo-European form possibly derives from a root meaning to turn. en.wiktionary.org