worm

noun

/wɜːm/

/wɜːrm/

Idioms

[countable] a long, thin creature with a soft body and no bones or legs蠕虫
- birds looking for worms觅食蠕虫的鸟
- Worms burrow down through the soil.蠕虫往土里钻。
see also earthworm, lugwormTopics Insects, worms, etc.b2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
worm + verb
- burrow
- crawl
- wriggle
- …
worm + noun
- cast
worms
[plural] long, thin creatures that live inside the bodies of humans or animals and can cause illness（人或动物体内的）寄生虫；肠虫
- The dog has worms.这条狗体内有寄生虫。
see also hookworm, tapewormTopics Insects, worms, etc.c1
[countable] the young form of an insect when it looks like a short worm（昆虫的）幼虫
- This apple is full of worms.这个苹果生满了虫子。
see also glow-worm, silkworm, woodwormTopics Insects, worms, etc.c1
[countable] (computing) a computer program that is a type of virus and that spreads across a network by copying itself蠕虫；蠕虫程序；蠕虫病毒Topics Computersc2
[countable, usually singular] (informal, disapproving) a person you do not like or respect, especially because they have a weak character and do not behave well towards other people懦夫；可怜虫

Word OriginOld English wyrm (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Latin vermis ‘worm’ and Greek rhomox ‘woodworm’.

Idioms

a can of worms

(informal) if you open up a can of worms, you start doing something that will cause a lot of problems and be very difficult棘手的问题；难题；麻烦事

the early bird catches the worm

(saying) the person who takes the opportunity to do something before other people will have an advantage over them捷足先登；捷足先得

the worm will turn

(saying) a person who is normally quiet and does not complain will protest when the situation becomes too hard to bear老实人被逼急了也要反抗；兔子急了也咬人

verb

/wɜːm/

/wɜːrm/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they worm	/wɜːm/ /wɜːrm/
he / she / it worms	/wɜːmz/ /wɜːrmz/
past simple wormed	/wɜːmd/ /wɜːrmd/
past participle wormed	/wɜːmd/ /wɜːrmd/
-ing form worming	/ˈwɜːmɪŋ/ /ˈwɜːrmɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

worm your way + adv./prep. to use a twisting and turning movement, especially to move through a narrow or crowded place蠕动，曲折行进（尤指通过狭窄或拥挤的地方）
- She wormed her way through the crowd to the reception desk.她在人群中左拐右绕走到服务台。
worm something to give an animal medicine that makes worms pass out of its body in the faeces给（动物）驱肠虫

Word OriginOld English wyrm (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Latin vermis ‘worm’ and Greek rhomox ‘woodworm’.