WORM

[noun] [C] - a small animal with a long narrow soft body without arms, legs or bonesAs worms move through soil they help to maintain its fertility.I'm terrified of worms.A worm is also the young of particular types of insect.It's distressing enough to find a worm in your apple but finding half of one is worse. See also woodworm.Some types of worm live in or on an animal's body and feed off it.a parasitic wormThe vet says our dog has worms. See also tapeworm.(disapproving) If you call someone a worm, you mean that they are unpleasant and do not deserve respect.He's just a worm, he's always nice to people when he's with them and then says horrid things about them later.If you say the worm turns you mean that a person or group of people that is usually obedient and does not cause any trouble becomes forceful when in a difficult situation.It seems the worm has turned - after years of silence local people are beginning to protest about waste emissions from the factory.A worm cast is a small pile of earth or sand pushed up to the surface of the ground by particular types of worm, esp. earthworms.Something such as a piece of wood which is worm-eaten has small holes in it which were made by the young of particular types of insect.a worm-eaten table/beam