worm-eaten
- adjective
- /ˈwɜrmˌiːtən/
- As we explored the ancient ruins, we encountered several worm-eaten statues that were crumbling.
Examples
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He says they're... they're... worm-eaten.
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The old worm-eaten wood in the attic is no longer safe to use.
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Put a light on that worm-eaten brush-pile.
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The ship they tossed her from is worm-eaten, but its crew still believe it seaworthy.
Blog text (23) -
We took the raft apart, removed the worm-eaten logs, and replaced them with new balsa logs cut a few miles inland.
Academic text (2002) -
Every little worm-eaten brick, every little rotting nook and cranny.
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The real reproof of curiosity comes after Carter's heroine has discovered "a door of worm-eaten oak" behind which lie the remains of the marquis's three.
Academic text (1995) -
Old squaws squatted in the dust, huddled in blankets, and were as impassive as ancient worm-eaten idols.
Blog text (22) -
Although the map was worn, worm-eaten, and faded, "its beauty literally stunned me," Espinosa Yglesias later wrote in Cave, City, and Eagle's Nest, a book about the MC2.
Academic text (2009) -
The image of a static, worm-eaten tree suggests the impossibility of continuing growth, thus denying the significant elegiac consolation of natural rejuvenation; it also gestures to the impact of trauma on elegiac recovery.
Academic text (2014)
Synonyms
Having holes or soft parts because worms have eaten it
Old clothing or fabric with small holes made by moths
Covered with small holes as if made by worms
Having small holes made by insects in wood
Antonyms
How Damaged
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Worm-eaten is a simple compound of worm and eaten, literally meaning 'eaten by worms'. Imagine an old book or wooden shelf with tiny holes where insects have chewed it — that's why worm-eaten now describes something damaged or full of holes from insects.