shipworm
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈʃɪpˌwɜrm/
- Specialized
:
teredo
- A shipworm can leave small holes in timber, which indicate its presence.
Examples
-
Off the coast of northern Colombia, however, the sailing raft became infested with shipworm, Teredo navalis, which also doomed the project's earlier attempt to reach West Mexico in 1995.
Academic text (2002) -
Along with the sand, seafarers undoubtedly dumped countless seeds, insects, microbes, and other alien organisms, while the hulls of their vessels delivered shipworms, barnacles, and other living cargo.
Academic text (1996) -
Second, a raft would have to be built that deals with the shipworm in the most practical way.
Academic text (2002) -
Manteno II was lost to the Pacific not because of the shipworm, but because she was trapped in the gyre.
Academic text (2002) -
Could the Manteno have gravitated toward building huge sailing rafts as a way to cope with shipworm?
Academic text (2002) -
This protected her Timbers from shipworm barnacles and weeds, keeping her solid and streamlined.
-
Manteno II drifted in totally windless conditions in a 300-mile-wide circle for 68 days, eventually becoming infested with shipworm.
Academic text (2002) -
The sea's low temperature and salinity preserve wood well, in part because they keep shipworms—actually wood-boring clams—at bay.
Academic text (2010) -
The shipworm bores into wood, causing significant damage to piers and boats.
-
Many mariners are concerned about shipworms damaging their vessels while docked.
Synonyms
A sea animal like a worm that bores into wood of ships or piers
Sea animals like worms that bore into and destroy wood on ships and piers
A large sea animal that bores into wood under salt water
A large sea animal like a worm that bores into wood under water
A long sea animal that makes holes in wood under the water on the Pacific coast
Compounds
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Shipworm combines ship and worm, because sailors saw these 'worm'-like sea animals boring into wooden 'ships' and piers and eating the wood. So a shipworm today is a marine animal that bores into and damages wood on ships and piers.