noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any of various caterpillars of moths that produce silk cocoons, especially Bombyx mori, the source of most commercial silk.
2. 2
   the commercially bred hairless white caterpillar of the domestic silkworm moth which spins a cocoon that can be processed to yield silk fiber; the principal source of commercial silk wordnet
3. 3
   larva of a saturniid moth; spins a large amount of strong silk in constructing its cocoon wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

giant silkwormjennymulespiderspinnerspinster

Example

More examples

"The silkworm is spinning a thread."

Etymology

From Middle English silkwirm, from Old English seolcwyrm (“silkworm”), equivalent to silk + worm.

Related phrases

Pernyi silkwormsilkworm mothbombyx mori

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.