Woodworm

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of many beetle larvae that bore into wood. countable, uncountable

    "1599, Simon Harward, “A Displaying of the wilfull deuises of wicked and vaine worldlings” in Three Sermons, London: Richard Johns, […] Chrisostome doth compaire enuie to the wood worm which though it doe breede in the tymber, yet it doth consume & waste the tymber, as enuie springing of the heart doth putrifie and vtterly eat vp the heart."

  2. 2
    a larva of a woodborer wordnet
  3. 3
    Any of many beetle larvae that bore into wood.; Anobium punctatum (common furniture beetle). countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A shipworm, a worm-like mollusk in the family Teredinidae that feeds on wood underwater in saltwater. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
deathwatch beetlefurniture beetleworm

Example

More examples

"There is a woodworm in the wood."

Etymology

From wood + worm.

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