Search Result for "worm": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (4)

1. any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae;

2. a person who has a nasty or unethical character undeserving of respect;
[syn: worm, louse, insect, dirt ball]

3. a software program capable of reproducing itself that can spread from one computer to the next over a network;
- Example: "worms take advantage of automatic file sending and receiving features found on many computers"

4. screw thread on a gear with the teeth of a worm wheel or rack;


VERB (1)

1. to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling);
- Example: "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"
- Example: "The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace"
[syn: writhe, wrestle, wriggle, worm, squirm, twist]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Screw \Screw\ (skr[udd]), n. [OE. scrue, OF. escroue, escroe, female screw, F. ['e]crou, L. scrobis a ditch, trench, in LL., the hole made by swine in rooting; cf. D. schroef a screw, G. schraube, Icel. skr[=u]fa.] 1. A cylinder, or a cylindrical perforation, having a continuous rib, called the thread, winding round it spirally at a constant inclination, so as to leave a continuous spiral groove between one turn and the next, -- used chiefly for producing, when revolved, motion or pressure in the direction of its axis, by the sliding of the threads of the cylinder in the grooves between the threads of the perforation adapted to it, the former being distinguished as the external, or male screw, or, more usually the screw; the latter as the internal, or female screw, or, more usually, the nut. [1913 Webster] Note: The screw, as a mechanical power, is a modification of the inclined plane, and may be regarded as a right-angled triangle wrapped round a cylinder, the hypotenuse of the marking the spiral thread of the screw, its base equaling the circumference of the cylinder, and its height the pitch of the thread. [1913 Webster] 2. Specifically, a kind of nail with a spiral thread and a head with a nick to receive the end of the screw-driver. Screws are much used to hold together pieces of wood or to fasten something; -- called also wood screws, and screw nails. See also Screw bolt, below. [1913 Webster] 3. Anything shaped or acting like a screw; esp., a form of wheel for propelling steam vessels. It is placed at the stern, and furnished with blades having helicoidal surfaces to act against the water in the manner of a screw. See Screw propeller, below. [1913 Webster] 4. A steam vesel propelled by a screw instead of wheels; a screw steamer; a propeller. [1913 Webster] 5. An extortioner; a sharp bargainer; a skinflint; a niggard. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster] 6. An instructor who examines with great or unnecessary severity; also, a searching or strict examination of a student by an instructor. [Cant, American Colleges] [1913 Webster] 7. A small packet of tobacco. [Slang] --Mayhew. [1913 Webster] 8. An unsound or worn-out horse, useful as a hack, and commonly of good appearance. --Ld. Lytton. [1913 Webster] 9. (Math.) A straight line in space with which a definite linear magnitude termed the pitch is associated (cf. 5th Pitch, 10 (b) ). It is used to express the displacement of a rigid body, which may always be made to consist of a rotation about an axis combined with a translation parallel to that axis. [1913 Webster] 10. (Zool.) An amphipod crustacean; as, the skeleton screw (Caprella). See Sand screw, under Sand. [1913 Webster] Archimedes screw, Compound screw, Foot screw, etc. See under Archimedes, Compound, Foot, etc. A screw loose, something out of order, so that work is not done smoothly; as, there is a screw loose somewhere. --H. Martineau. Endless screw, or perpetual screw, a screw used to give motion to a toothed wheel by the action of its threads between the teeth of the wheel; -- called also a worm. Lag screw. See under Lag. Micrometer screw, a screw with fine threads, used for the measurement of very small spaces. Right and left screw, a screw having threads upon the opposite ends which wind in opposite directions. Screw alley. See Shaft alley, under Shaft. Screw bean. (Bot.) (a) The curious spirally coiled pod of a leguminous tree (Prosopis pubescens) growing from Texas to California. It is used for fodder, and ground into meal by the Indians. (b) The tree itself. Its heavy hard wood is used for fuel, for fencing, and for railroad ties. Screw bolt, a bolt having a screw thread on its shank, in distinction from a key bolt. See 1st Bolt, 3. Screw box, a device, resembling a die, for cutting the thread on a wooden screw. Screw dock. See under Dock. Screw engine, a marine engine for driving a screw propeller. Screw gear. See Spiral gear, under Spiral. Screw jack. Same as Jackscrew. Screw key, a wrench for turning a screw or nut; a spanner wrench. Screw machine. (a) One of a series of machines employed in the manufacture of wood screws. (b) A machine tool resembling a lathe, having a number of cutting tools that can be caused to act on the work successively, for making screws and other turned pieces from metal rods. Screw pine (Bot.), any plant of the endogenous genus Pandanus, of which there are about fifty species, natives of tropical lands from Africa to Polynesia; -- named from the spiral arrangement of the pineapple-like leaves. Screw plate, a device for cutting threads on small screws, consisting of a thin steel plate having a series of perforations with internal screws forming dies. Screw press, a press in which pressure is exerted by means of a screw. Screw propeller, a screw or spiral bladed wheel, used in the propulsion of steam vessels; also, a steam vessel propelled by a screw. Screw shell (Zool.), a long, slender, spiral gastropod shell, especially of the genus Turritella and allied genera. See Turritella. Screw steamer, a steamship propelled by a screw. Screw thread, the spiral rib which forms a screw. Screw stone (Paleon.), the fossil stem of an encrinite. Screw tree (Bot.), any plant of the genus Helicteres, consisting of about thirty species of tropical shrubs, with simple leaves and spirally twisted, five-celled capsules; -- also called twisted-horn, and twisty. Screw valve, a stop valve which is opened or closed by a screw. Screw worm (Zool.), the larva of an American fly (Compsomyia macellaria), allied to the blowflies, which sometimes deposits its eggs in the nostrils, or about wounds, in man and other animals, with fatal results. Screw wrench. (a) A wrench for turning a screw. (b) A wrench with an adjustable jaw that is moved by a screw. To put the screws on or To put the screw on, to use pressure upon, as for the purpose of extortion; to coerce. To put under the screw or To put under the screws, to subject to pressure; to force. Wood screw, a metal screw with a sharp thread of coarse pitch, adapted to holding fast in wood. See Illust. of Wood screw, under Wood. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Worm \Worm\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wormed; p. pr. & vb. n. Worming.] To work slowly, gradually, and secretly. [1913 Webster] When debates and fretting jealousy Did worm and work within you more and more, Your color faded. --Herbert. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Worm \Worm\ (w[^u]rm), n. [OE. worm, wurm, AS. wyrm; akin to D. worm, OS. & G. wurm, Icel. ormr, Sw. & Dan. orm, Goth. wa['u]rms, L. vermis, Gr. ? a wood worm. Cf. Vermicelli, Vermilion, Vermin.] [1913 Webster] 1. A creeping or a crawling animal of any kind or size, as a serpent, caterpillar, snail, or the like. [Archaic] [1913 Webster] There came a viper out of the heat, and leapt on his hand. When the men of the country saw the worm hang on his hand, they said, This man must needs be a murderer. --Tyndale (Acts xxviii. 3, 4). [1913 Webster] 'T is slander, Whose edge is sharper than the sword, whose tongue Outvenoms all the worms of Nile. --Shak. [1913 Webster] When Cerberus perceived us, the great worm, His mouth he opened and displayed his tusks. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster] 2. Any small creeping animal or reptile, either entirely without feet, or with very short ones, including a great variety of animals; as, an earthworm; the blindworm. Specifically: (Zool.) (a) Any helminth; an entozoon. (b) Any annelid. (c) An insect larva. (d) pl. Same as Vermes. [1913 Webster] 3. An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one's mind with remorse. [1913 Webster] The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul! --Shak. [1913 Webster] 4. A being debased and despised. [1913 Webster] I am a worm, and no man. --Ps. xxii. 6. [1913 Webster] 5. Anything spiral, vermiculated, or resembling a worm; as: (a) The thread of a screw. [1913 Webster] The threads of screws, when bigger than can be made in screw plates, are called worms. --Moxon. [1913 Webster] (b) A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms. (c) (Anat.) A certain muscular band in the tongue of some animals, as the dog; the lytta. See Lytta. (d) The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to economize space. See Illust. of Still. (e) (Mach.) A short revolving screw, the threads of which drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel by gearing into its teeth or cogs. See Illust. of Worm gearing, below. [1913 Webster] Worm abscess (Med.), an abscess produced by the irritation resulting from the lodgment of a worm in some part of the body. Worm fence. See under Fence. Worm gear. (Mach.) (a) A worm wheel. (b) Worm gearing. Worm gearing, gearing consisting of a worm and worm wheel working together. Worm grass. (Bot.) (a) See Pinkroot, 2 (a) . (b) The white stonecrop (Sedum album) reputed to have qualities as a vermifuge. --Dr. Prior. Worm oil (Med.), an anthelmintic consisting of oil obtained from the seeds of Chenopodium anthelminticum. Worm powder (Med.), an anthelmintic powder. Worm snake. (Zool.) See Thunder snake (b), under Thunder. Worm tea (Med.), an anthelmintic tea or tisane. Worm tincture (Med.), a tincture prepared from dried earthworms, oil of tartar, spirit of wine, etc. [Obs.] Worm wheel, a cogwheel having teeth formed to fit into the spiral spaces of a screw called a worm, so that the wheel may be turned by, or may turn, the worm; -- called also worm gear, and sometimes tangent wheel. See Illust. of Worm gearing, above. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Worm \Worm\, v. t. 1. To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means; -- often followed by out. [1913 Webster] They find themselves wormed out of all power. --Swift. [1913 Webster] They . . . wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell. --Dickens. [1913 Webster] 2. To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm. See Worm, n. 5 (b) . [1913 Webster] 3. To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of, as a dog, for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw. The operation was formerly supposed to guard against canine madness. [1913 Webster] The men assisted the laird in his sporting parties, wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his terrier puppies. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] 4. (Naut.) To wind rope, yarn, or other material, spirally round, between the strands of, as a cable; to wind with spun yarn, as a small rope. [1913 Webster] Ropes . . . are generally wormed before they are served. --Totten. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster] To worm one's self into, to enter into gradually by arts and insinuations; as, to worm one's self into favor. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

worm n 1: any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae 2: a person who has a nasty or unethical character undeserving of respect [syn: worm, louse, insect, dirt ball] 3: a software program capable of reproducing itself that can spread from one computer to the next over a network; "worms take advantage of automatic file sending and receiving features found on many computers" 4: screw thread on a gear with the teeth of a worm wheel or rack v 1: to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling); "The prisoner writhed in discomfort"; "The child tried to wriggle free from his aunt's embrace" [syn: writhe, wrestle, wriggle, worm, squirm, twist]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

134 Moby Thesaurus words for "worm": amble, angleworm, animal, armyworm, beast, blast, blight, blighter, bollworm, bookworm, cancer, canker, claudicate, contort, corkscrew, cotton worm, crawl, creep, crinkle, cur, dog, dogtrot, drag, drag along, drag out, dry rot, earthworm, earworm, edge in, fireworm, fishworm, foist, fungus, go dead slow, go on tiptoe, go slow, grovel, gumshoe, helminth, hobble, hound, hyena, idle, inch, inch along, inchworm, infiltrate, insect, intort, jog-trot, laze, leech, limp, looper, lowlife, meander, measuring worm, mildew, mold, mongrel, mosey, moth, moth and rust, mucker, must, nematode, night crawler, nightwalk, nightwalker, no-good, pad, pest, pig, poke, poke along, polecat, prowl, pussyfoot, reptile, rot, rust, saunter, scallop, scrabble, scramble, screw, serpent, serpentine, shuffle along, sidle, silkworm, skunk, slink, smut, snake, sneak, squiggle, squirm, stagger along, steal, steal along, stroll, swine, swirl, tapeworm, tippytoe, tiptoe, toddle, toddle along, totter along, traipse, turn, tussah, twine, twirl, twist, twist and turn, varmint, vermin, viper, waddle, walk, webworm, whelp, whirl, whorl, wiggle, wind, wireworm, woodworm, work in, worm along, wring, writhe
V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (February 2016):

WORM Write Once Read Many (CD)
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

worm n. [from tapeworm in John Brunner's novel The Shockwave Rider, via XEROX PARC] A program that propagates itself over a network, reproducing itself as it goes. Compare virus. Nowadays the term has negative connotations, as it is assumed that only crackers write worms. Perhaps the best-known example was Robert T. Morris's Great Worm of 1988, a ?benign? one that got out of control and hogged hundreds of Suns and VAXen across the U.S. See also cracker, RTM, Trojan horse, ice.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

worm (From "Tapeworm" in John Brunner's novel "The Shockwave Rider", via XEROX PARC) A program that propagates itself over a network, reproducing itself as it goes. Compare virus. Nowadays the term has negative connotations, as it is assumed that only crackers write worms. Perhaps the best-known example was the Great Worm. Compare Trojan horse. [Jargon File] (1996-09-17)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

Write-Once Read-Many WORM (WORM) Any type of storage medium to which data can be written to only a single time, but can be read from any number of times. Typically this is an optical disk whose surface is permanently etched using a laser in order to record information. WORM media have a significantly longer shelf life than magnetic media and thus are used when data must be preserved for a long time. (1996-04-01)
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:

Worm (1.) Heb. sas (Isa. 51:8), denotes the caterpillar of the clothes-moth. (2.) The manna bred worms (tola'im), but on the Sabbath there was not any worm (rimmah) therein (Ex. 16:20, 24). Here these words refer to caterpillars or larvae, which feed on corrupting matter. These two Hebrew words appear to be interchangeable (Job 25:6; Isa. 14:11). Tola'im in some places denotes the caterpillar (Deut. 28:39; Jonah 4:7), and rimmah, the larvae, as bred from putridity (Job 17:14; 21:26; 24:20). In Micah 7:17, where it is said, "They shall move out of their holes like worms," perhaps serpents or "creeping things," or as in the Revised Version, "crawling things," are meant. The word is used figuratively in Job 25:6; Ps. 22:6; Isa. 41:14; Mark 9:44, 46, 48; Isa. 66:24.