worm
Plural: worms
Noun
- any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae
- a person who has a nasty or unethical character undeserving of respect
- a software program capable of reproducing itself that can spread from one computer to the next over a network
- "worms take advantage of automatic file sending and receiving features found on many computers"
- screw thread on a gear with the teeth of a worm wheel or rack
- 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.
- A type of wingless "dragon", especially a gigantic sea serpent or any kind of dragon.
- A type of wingless "dragon", especially a gigantic sea serpent or any kind of dragon.
- Either a mythical "dragon" (especially wingless), a gigantic sea serpent, or a creature that resembles a Mongolian death worm.
- A contemptible or devious being.
- A self-replicating malware that propagates through a network.
- A graphical representation of the total runs scored across a number of overs.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
- A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
- The spiral wire of a corkscrew.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
- A muscular band in the tongue of some animals, such as dogs; the lytta.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
- The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to save space.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.
- A short revolving screw whose threads drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel or rack by gearing into its teeth.
- Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake, snail, or caterpillar.
- A maggot.
- An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one’s mind with remorse.
- A strip of linked tiles sharing parallel edges in a tiling.
- The lytta.
- A dance, or dance move, in which the dancer lies on the floor and undulates the body horizontally thereby moving forwards.
Verb
Verb Forms: wormed, worming, worms
- To rid an animal of intestinal worms; to move stealthily.
- to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
- To make (one's way) with a crawling motion.
- To move with one's body dragging the ground.
- To work one's way by artful or devious means.
- To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.
- To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means.
- 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).
- To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving.
- To deworm (an animal).
- 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.
- To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm.
Examples
- Don't try to run away, you little worm!
- Food for the worms.
- He tried to worm a seven-letter word onto the board, but it just wouldn’t fit.
- He wormed his way into the organization.
- We wormed our way through the underbrush.
- When Trevor opened his email, a worm spread to 100 people in his address book.
- Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English worm, werm, wurm, wirm, from Old English wyrm (“worm, snake”), from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis, possibly from *wer- (“to turn”). Doublet of vermin and wyrm, the latter of which is a fairly recent borrowing directly from the Old English.
(computing): First computer usage by John Brunner in his 1975 book The Shockwave Rider.
Cognates
Germanic cognates include Dutch worm, West Frisian wjirm, German Wurm, Swedish orm (“snake”), Norwegian Nynorsk orm (“earthworm or snake”), Danish orm and Yiddish וואָרעם (vorem).
Indo-European cognates include Latin vermis (“worm”), Lithuanian var̃mas (“insect, midge”), Albanian rrime (“rainworm”), Ancient Greek ῥόμος (rhómos, “woodworm”).
Scrabble Score: 9
worm: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordworm: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
worm: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary