worm

The word “worm” means a long, thin, legless invertebrate, such as an earthworm. In plain terms, a small crawling invertebrate; also used for a self-spreading computer virus, or as an insult for a sneaky person.

“Worm” is pronounced wurm (/wɝm/ in IPA).

Here is “worm” used in a sentence: “After the rain, worms covered the sidewalk.”

Depending on how it is used, “worm” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “worm” comes from Old English. From Old English "wyrm," which could mean both "worm" and "snake" — a distant cousin of "vermin.".

“Worm” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Worm” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a long, thin, legless invertebrate, such as an earthworm.

A computer worm is a self-replicating program that spreads across a network on its own, without needing to attach itself to another file or program, whereas a virus typically requires a host file and some user action to spread. This makes worms generally faster at propagating across networks.

Calling someone a worm is an informal insult implying they are contemptible or sneaky, drawing on the image of the low, crawling creature to suggest someone lacking in dignity or trustworthiness.

To 'worm your way into' something means to gradually and cunningly gain entry or acceptance, often through persistence or subtle manipulation, drawing on the verb sense of moving forward slowly by crawling or wriggling.