tomato worm
- noun
- /təˈmeɪtoʊ wɜrm/
- Specialized
:
gusano del tomate
- He noticed a large tomato worm climbing up the stem of a tomato plant.
Examples
-
Farmers often check their crops for signs of the tomato worm to prevent damage to their tomato plants.
-
The large green tomato worm can quickly consume the leaves of several plants in a garden.
-
She found a tomato worm crawling on the underside of a tobacco leaf.
-
Look at that tomato worm on the plant!
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The tomato worm is known for its distinctive stripes.
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The gardener was frustrated after finding several tomato worms on her plants.
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To protect her garden, she checked each leaf for tomato worms hiding among the foliage.
Synonyms
1
7.9
A large green caterpillar with a horn at its tail that eats tomato plants
1
8.5
A large green caterpillar with white stripes that eats tomato and potato plants
A large green caterpillar with white stripes that eats potato and tomato leaves
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a worm associated with tomatoes' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'tomato' (the plant/fruit) with 'worm' (a small invertebrate). This noun+noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistic naming pattern for pests or organisms associated with a host, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended referent.
Etymology
Tomato worm comes from the large green caterpillar that eats tomato plants and looks like a fat worm on the leaves. So the name now means this common garden 'pest' that can quickly damage tomato plants.