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Wormed

 - 6 dictionary results

worm

  [wurm]
Use Wormed in a Sentence
–noun
1. Zoology. any of numerous long, slender, soft-bodied, legless, bilaterally symmetrical invertebrates, including the flatworms, roundworms, acanthocephalans, nemerteans, gordiaceans, and annelids.
2. (loosely) any of numerous small creeping animals with more or less slender, elongated bodies, and without limbs or with very short ones, including individuals of widely differing kinds, as earthworms, tapeworms, insect larvae, and adult forms of some insects.
3. something resembling or suggesting a worm in appearance, movement, etc.
4. Informal. a groveling, abject, or contemptible person.
5. the spiral pipe in which the vapor is condensed in a still.
6. (not in technical use) screw thread (def. 1).
7. screw conveyor.
8. a rotating cylinder or shaft, cut with one or more helical threads, that engages with and drives a worm wheel.
9. something that penetrates, injures, or consumes slowly or insidiously, like a gnawing worm.
10. worms, (used with a singular verb) Pathology, Veterinary Pathology. any disease or disorder arising from the presence of parasitic worms in the intestines or other tissues; helminthiasis.
11. (used with a plural verb) Metallurgy. irregularities visible on the surfaces of some metals subject to plastic deformation.
12. the lytta of a dog or other carnivorous animal.
13. computer code planted illegally in a software program so as to destroy data in any system that downloads the program, as by reformatting the hard disk.
–verb (used without object)
14. to move or act like a worm; creep, crawl, or advance slowly or stealthily.
15. to achieve something by insidious procedure (usually fol. by into): to worm into another's favor.
16. Metallurgy. craze (def. 8a).
–verb (used with object)
17. to cause to move or advance in a devious or stealthy manner: The thief wormed his hand into my coat pocket.
18. to get by persistent, insidious efforts (usually fol. by out or from): to worm a secret out of a person.
19. to insinuate (oneself or one's way) into another's favor, confidence, etc.: to worm his way into the king's favor.
20. to free from worms: He wormed the puppies.
21. Nautical. to wind yarn or the like spirally round (a rope) so as to fill the spaces between the strands and render the surface smooth.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME (n.); OE wyrm, dragon, serpent, worm; c. D worm, G Wurm, ON ormr; akin to L vermis

Related forms:
wormer, noun
wormlike, wormish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Wormed
worm   (wûrm)   
n.  

  1. Any of various invertebrates, as those of the phyla Annelida, Nematoda, Nemertea, or Platyhelminthes, having a long, flexible, rounded or flattened body, often without obvious appendages.

  2. Any of various crawling insect larvae, such as a grub or a caterpillar, having a soft elongated body.

  3. Any of various unrelated animals, such as the shipworm or the slowworm, resembling a worm in habit or appearance.

    1. Something, such as the thread of a screw or the spiral condenser in a still, that resembles a worm in form or appearance.

    2. The spirally threaded shaft of a worm gear.

  5. An insidiously tormenting or devouring force: "felt the black worm of treachery growing in his heart" (Mario Puzo).

  6. A person regarded as pitiable or contemptible.

  7. worms Pathology Infestation of the intestines or other parts of the body with worms or wormlike parasites; helminthiasis.

  8. Computer Science A malicious program that replicates itself until it fills all of the storage space on a drive or network.

v.   wormed, worm·ing, worms

v.   tr.

  1. To make (one's way) with or as if with the sinuous crawling motion of a worm.

  2. To work (one's way or oneself) subtly or gradually; insinuate: She wormed her way into his confidence.

  3. To elicit by artful or devious means. Usually used with out of: wormed a confession out of the suspect.

  4. To cure of intestinal worms.

  5. Nautical To wrap yarn or twine spirally around (rope).

v.   intr.

  1. To move in a manner suggestive of a worm.

  2. To make one's way by artful or devious means: He can't worm out of this situation.


[Middle English, from Old English wurm, variant of wyrm; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
worm

  1. n.
    a repellent person, usually a male. : Gad, you are a worm, Tom.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

worm 
O.E. wurm, variant of wyrm "serpent, dragon," also in later O.E. "earthworm," from P.Gmc. *wurmiz (cf. O.S., O.H.G., Ger. wurm, O.Fris., Du. worm, O.N. ormr, Goth. waurms "serpent, worm"), from PIE *wrmi-/*wrmo- "worm" (cf. Gk. rhomos, L. vermis "worm," O.Rus. vermie "insects," Lith. varmas "insect, gnat"), possibly from base *wer- "turn" (see versus). The ancient category of these was much more extensive than the modern, scientific, one and included serpents, scorpions, maggots, and the supposed causes of certain diseases. In Eng., the -o- was a scribal substitution to avoid confusion of -u- and -r- (as also in some, come, monk etc.). As an insult meaning "abject, miserable person" it dates from O.E. The verb meaning "to move like a worm" is recorded from 1610, in fig. senses (attested from 1627) suggesting patient, sinuous progress.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2worm
Function: transitive verb
: to treat (an animal) with a drug to destroy or expel parasitic worms
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

worm (wûrm)
n.

  1. Any of various invertebrates, as those of the phyla Annelida, Nematoda, Nemertea, or Platyhelminthes, having a long, flexible, rounded or flattened body, often without obvious appendages.

  2. Any of various crawling insect larvae, such as a grub or a caterpillar, having a soft, elongated body.

  3. Any of various unrelated animals, such as the shipworm or the slowworm, resembling a worm in habit or appearance.

  4. worms Infestation of the intestines or other parts of the body with worms or wormlike parasites; helminthiasis.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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