worm
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worm¹
- /wɜːm/ UK
- /wɝm/ US
Sounds like wyrm · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)m
Where it comes from
From Middle English werm, wirm, worm, worme, wrim, wurm, wyrm, wyrme, from Old English weorm, wurm, wyrm, from Proto-West Germanic *wurmi, from Proto-Germanic *wurmiz (“worm; snake”), from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥mis (“worm; larva”), 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 North Frisian wörem, wörm, Würem (“worm”), Saterland Frisian Wurm, Wúurm (“worm”), West Frisian wjirm (“worm”), Alemannic German Wüüre (“worm”), Cimbrian bórm (“worm”), burm (“snake”), Dutch worm, wurm (“worm”), German Gewürm (“vermin”), Wurm (“worm”), Low German Worm (“worm”), Luxembourgish Wuerm (“worm”), Mòcheno burm (“snake”), Vilamovian vūəm, wüm (“worm”), Yiddish וואָרעם (vorem, “worm”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Swedish orm (“worm”), Faroese and Icelandic ormur (“worm”), Norwegian Nynorsk orm (“worm”), yrme, yrmle (“female snake with offspring”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌼𐍃 (waurms, “snake”), Kildin Sami уррьм (urr’m, “gadfly larva”), Skolt Sami uʹrmm (“gadfly larva”).
Indo-European cognates include Latin vermis (“worm”), Ancient Greek ῥόμοξ (rhómox), ῥόμος (rhómos, “woodworm”), Albanian rrime (“rainworm”).
noun worms · worme
- A generally tubular invertebrate of the annelid phylum; an earthworm. ‘Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared.[…]’
- More loosely, any of various tubular invertebrates resembling annelids but not closely related to them, such as velvet worms, acorn worms, flatworms, or roundworms. See Appendix:English worms. Leaning that I might eat, I stretched and clung Over the shapeless depth in which those corpses hung. A woman’s shape, now lank and cold and blue, The dwelling of the many-coloured worm, Hung there […]
- Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake (cf. “dragon”; blindworm, slowworm, “legless lizard”), snail, or caterpillar. A forlyued cok leiþ eiren in his laste elde... and ȝif any venemous worme sittiþ on broode þerevppon in þe canyculer dayes, þerof is igendrid... a cocatrice.
- A maggot or any other insect larva with similar shape and behavior. Those little wriggling worms are the larvae of flies who laid eggs here.
-
A dragon, today especially Germanic dragon, more often of the serpentine or wingless type, for example sea serpent, but also any kind of dragon.
a. 1398, John Trevisa, transl. Bartholomeus Anglicus as De Proprietatibus Rerum (MS BL Add. 27944), Vol. I, p. 628:
Similar: wyrm
-
Either a mythical "dragon" (especially wingless), a gigantic sea serpent, or a creature that resembles a Mongolian death worm.
Similar: wyrm
- A contemptible or devious being. Don't try to run away, you little worm!
- A self-replicating program that propagates through a network by copying itself, differing from a virus which seeks to propagate by inserting its code into other executable files. When Trevor opened his email, a worm spread to 100 people in his address book.
- A graphical representation of the total runs scored across a number of overs.
- Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw. If the Worms of the Nut or Spindle be worn, the Spindle must be examin'd by the Smith
- A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms.
- The spiral wire of a corkscrew.
- 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.
Holonyms: worm drive, worm and wheel
Similar: worm screw
- An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one’s mind with remorse. The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul!
- 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.
verb worms · worming · wormed · worme
- To make (one's way) with a crawling motion. We wormed our way through the underbrush.
- To move with one's body dragging the ground. Inch by inch I wormed along the secret passageway, flat to the ground, not once raising my head, hardly daring to pull a full breath[…].
- To work one's way by artful or devious means. When debates and fretting jealousy / Did worm and work within you more and more, / Your colour faded.
- To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate. He wormed his way into the organization.
- To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means. They […]find themselves wormed out of all power.
- 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). They[…]wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell.
- To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving. Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.
- 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. The men[…] assisted the laird in his sporting parties, wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his terrier puppies.
- To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm.
WORM²
noun WORMs
- Initialism of write once, read many.
Worm³
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Danish and German Worm.
proper noun Worms
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: insect, louse, wreathe, twist, writhe, squirm, wriggle, wrestle, dirt ball, teredo, cocoon, vermin, bug, maggot, helminth, parasitic
Translations
Every language
noun animal
| Español | gusano, lombriz |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 벌레 beolle |
| 日本語 | 蚯蚓 mimizu, 蠕虫 zenchū, ワーム wāmu |
| 中文 | 蠕蟲 /蠕虫 rúchóng |
| हिन्दी | कीड़ा kīṛā, पोका pokā, किर्म kirm |
| Kiswahili | funza class ji/ma |
| Português | minhoca, verme |
| Français | ver |
| Deutsch | Wurm |
| Italiano | verme |
| Ελληνικά | σκουλήκι skoulíki |
| Română | vierme, râmă |
| Русский | червь červʹ, червя́к červják, глист helminth |
| Tiếng Việt | giun, trùn |
| العربية | دُودَة dūda, دُود dūd |
| עברית | רִמָּה rimmâ, תּוֹלַעַת tolá'at |
noun something helical, especially the thread of a screw
| Español | guirnalda, filete, rosca |
|---|---|
| Français | vis sans fin |
| Deutsch | Gewinde |
noun dragon or mythological serpent
| Português | serpe |
|---|---|
| Français | dragon |
| Deutsch | Lindwurm |
| Italiano | drago |
| Română | balaur |
| Русский | змей zmej, змея́ zmejá, драко́н drakón |
noun contemptible being
| Español | gusano, alimaña, rata, cucaracha |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 버러지 beoreoji, 짐승 jimseung |
| Português | miserável, patife, verme |
| Français | vermine, scarabée |
| Deutsch | elender Wurm |
| Italiano | miserabile |
| Ελληνικά | σκουλήκι skoulíki |
| Română | vierme |
| Русский | сте́рва stérva, негодя́й negodjáj, негодя́йка negodjájka |
| العربية | شَخْص دَنِيء šaḵṣ danīʔ |
| עברית | נִבְזֶה nivzé |
noun self-replicating program
| Español | gusano informático |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 蠕蟲 /蠕虫 rúchóng |
| Português | worm |
| Français | ver |
| Deutsch | Wurm |
| Italiano | verme |
| Ελληνικά | σκουλήκι skoulíki |
| Română | vierme |
| Русский | червь červʹ |
verb to make one's way with a crawling motion
| Français | ramper |
|---|
verb to cure of intestinal worms
| Español | desparasitar |
|---|---|
| Français | vermifuger |
verb to get (into) gradually or slowly
| Français | infiltrer, s'insinuer |
|---|
verb to get information that someone is reluctant to give
| Français | tirer les vers du nez |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | einem alles aus der Nase ziehen, etwas aus der Nase ziehen, Würmer aus der Nase ziehen |
Talk about this word "worm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/worm. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. worm. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/worm "worm." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/worm.Cite this
@misc{worm_2026,
title = {worm},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/worm},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
