worm

worm / wərm/ • n. 1. any of a number of creeping or burrowing invertebrate animals with long, slender, soft bodies and no limbs. • Phyla Annelida (segmented worms), Nematoda (roundworms), and Platyhelminthes (flatworms), and up to twelve minor phyla. ∎  short for earthworm. ∎  (worms) intestinal or other internal parasites. ∎  used in names of long, slender insect larvae, esp. those in fruit or wood, e.g., army worm, woodworm. ∎  used in names of other animals that resemble worms in some way, e.g., slow-worm, shipworm. ∎  a maggot supposed to eat buried corpses: food for worms. ∎  Comput. a self-replicating program able to propagate itself across a network, typically having a detrimental effect. 2. inf. a weak or despicable person (used as a general term of contempt). 3. a helical device or component, in particular: ∎  the threaded cylinder in a worm gear. ∎  the coiled pipe of a still in which the vapor is cooled and condensed. • v. 1. [intr.] move with difficulty by crawling or wriggling: I wormed my way along the roadside ditch. ∎  (worm one's way into) insinuate one's way into: the educated dealers may later worm their way into stockbroking. ∎  [tr.] move (something) into a confined space by wriggling it: I wormed my right hand between my body and the earth. ∎  (worm something out of) obtain information from (someone) by cunning persistence: I did manage to worm a few details out of him. 2. [tr.] treat (an animal) with a preparation designed to expel parasitic worms. 3. [tr.] archaic Naut. make (a rope) smooth by winding small cordage between the strands. DERIVATIVES: worm·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.