noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any parasitical worm of the class or infraclass Cestoda, which infests the intestines of animals, including humans, often infecting different host species during their life cycle. countable
2. 2
   ribbonlike flatworms that are parasitic in the intestines of humans and other vertebrates wordnet
3. 3
   Any parasitical worm of the class or infraclass Cestoda, which infests the intestines of animals, including humans, often infecting different host species during their life cycle.; A broad fish tapeworm, Diphyllobothrium latum. countable
4. 4
   Infection by tapeworms. uncountable

   "We used to have a lot of tapeworm down in my neck of the woods, but we don't have much now."

Verb

1. 1
   To move along in a wriggling manner, like a tapeworm. intransitive
2. 2
   To treat (an animal) for tapeworm infection. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms

cestodeanglewormappetitecanine appetitecestodechilopoda

Example

More examples

"In the end, you see, sorrow is like a tapeworm: what you have to do is to get it out of your body."

Etymology

From tape + worm.

Related phrases

armed tapewormbeef tapewormdwarf tapewormpork tapewormrabbit tapewormred tapewormlife cycle

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