roundworm

[ round-wurm ]

noun

any nematode, especially Ascaris lumbricoides, that infests the intestine of humans and other mammals.

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Origin of roundworm

First recorded in 1555–65; round¹ + worm

Words Nearby roundworm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use roundworm in a sentence

The cancer-seeking worm in question is the common roundworm, Caenorhabditis elegans.
Like bloodhounds, worms are sniffing out human cancers | Katie Grace Carpenter | May 9, 2022 | Science News For Students
In 2008, David Raizen and his colleagues even reported sleep in Caenorhabditis elegans, the roundworm widely used as a model organism in biology laboratories.
Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof. | Veronique Greenwood | May 18, 2021 | Quanta Magazine
His roundworm research on how meat could be a vector for Trichinosis helped spawn the concept of meat inspection.
Five Scientists on the Heroes Who Changed Their Lives - Issue 93: Forerunners | Alan Lightman, Hope Jahren, Robert Sapolsky, | December 2, 2020 | Nautilus

British Dictionary definitions for roundworm

roundworm

/ (ˈraʊndˌwɜːm) /

noun

any nematode worm, esp Ascaris lumbricoides, a common intestinal parasite of man and pigs

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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