n.
Pronunciation: ' w ə rm
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wyrm serpent, worm; akin to Old High German wurm serpent, worm, Latin vermis worm
Date: before 12th century
1 a : EARTHWORM broadly : an annelid worm b : any of numerous relatively small elongated usually naked and soft-bodied animals (as a grub, pinworm, tapeworm, shipworm, or slowworm)
2 a : a human being who is an object of contempt, loathing, or pity : WRETCH b : something that torments or devours from within
3 archaic : SNAKE , SERPENT
4 : HELMINTHIASIS ― usually used in plural
5 : something (as a mechanical device) spiral or vermiculate in form or appearance: as a : the thread of a screw b : a short revolving screw whose threads gear with the teeth of a worm wheel or a rack c : ARCHIMEDES' SCREW also : a conveyor working on the principle of such a screw
6 : a usually small self-contained and self-replicating computer program that invades computers on a network and usually performs a destructive action
– worm · like \ - ˌ l ī k \ adjective