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worm

worm

12 8.2
A gear shaped like a screw that turns a wheel at a right angle
  • noun
  • /wɜrm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sinfín
  • This is a right angle worm gear driven gearbox.
  • worm gear
  • helical worm

Examples

  • It's a worm gear; still a little sluggish, but it'll have to do.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • OK, so you've got the worm gear against this gear.

  • The first worm unit was installed in May, and a second was to be added in early November.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Massive worm gear down in here under that.

  • And contractors I think here in California think that the worm drive right angle circular saw is the best.

  • As one turns the horizontally mounted worm shaft, sliding contact is made with a worm gear inside the actuator housing.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The high-tensile bronze worm gear and stainless-steel worm are supported by tapered roller bearings and seals to prevent loss of lubrication.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The engineer explained how the worm gear smoothly transmits motion between parts of the machine.

  • A small worm gear is crucial in this mechanism to change the direction of movement effectively.

  • The new design features a worm gear that enhances the efficiency of the conveyor system.

Idioms

9.1

To be very ashamed and think you are worthless

oh worm
  • Slang
9.9

A short phrase people say to show mild disappointment

the worm turns
  • Informal
9.9

A change when someone treated badly starts to fight back

People who act early are more likely to succeed

Compounds

2 7.9

Rotten food that is not safe to eat

Guinea worm disease
  • Specialized
1 6.6

An infection from drinking water with baby worms that causes painful blisters when the worm comes out

Guinea worm
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A small parasite that lives in people and comes out through the skin causing strong pain after drinking dirty water

1 2.1

A small red earthworm that lives in soil, helps make soil better, and people use it as fishing bait

parasitic worm
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A small animal that lives inside another animal and takes its food, often causing sickness

wiggle worm
  • Baby Talk
1 7.5

A person, especially a child, who cannot sit still and keeps moving

worm gear
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A gear with a screw shaft that turns a toothed wheel to change direction and make turning slower and stronger

beard worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A thin sea animal that lives in a tube on the deep ocean floor and has tentacles

bladder worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A soft sac in an animal that is filled with fluid and contains a young tapeworm

8.9

A large earthworm that comes out at night or when the ground is wet and people use for fishing

annelid worm
  • Specialized
7.7

A long soft animal with a body made of many rings, like earthworms and leeches

army worm
  • Specialized
7.4

A caterpillar that moves in large groups and eats crops like grass and grain

A worm that people use as bait to catch fish

A small caterpillar with legs only near its head and tail that moves by making a loop

gun worm
  • Archaic
9.9

A tool like a corkscrew for pulling unfired bullets from a musket barrel

nematode worm
  • Specialized
7.1

A very small thin animal with a pointed body that lives in soil or inside other living things

proboscis worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A soft sea animal like a thin worm that stretches a long head to catch food

9.9

A young insect that makes holes in apples and eats their insides

A long soft sea animal that can stretch and reach prey with a thin mouth tube

oligochaete worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A small worm with tiny bristles that lives in soil or water

peanut worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A small sea worm that pulls its front part into its body and looks like a peanut

polychaete worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea worm with many body segments and small bristles on each segment

polychete worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A worm that lives in the sea with many small bristles on its sides that help it move

potato worm
  • Specialized
7.8

A large green caterpillar with white stripes that eats potato and tomato leaves

A worm with a long body made of many ring-shaped parts like an earthworm or leech

tomato worm
  • Specialized
7.2

A large green caterpillar with white stripes that eats tomato and tobacco plants

tongue worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wormlike parasite with hooks that lives inside the nose of animals like dogs or cows

7.4

A small insect that eats tree leaves, bark, or wood and damages the tree

trematode worm
  • Specialized
9.0

A flat parasite with suckers that lives in animals or people

spiny-headed worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A parasite that lives in animal intestines and can pull its spiny head back to hold on

velvet worm
  • Specialized
9.8

A small soft animal with velvety skin that catches prey with sticky slime

vinegar worm
  • Specialized
9.9

A very small worm that lives in vinegar and eats tiny living things that make it turn sour

7.2

A container where worms turn kitchen scraps into soil for plants

worm fence
  • Archaic
9.1

A fence made of wooden rails laid in a zigzag pattern

worm fish
  • Specialized
9.9

A small, long tropical fish that lives in shallow water and hides in seagrass

worm lizard
  • Specialized
9.7

A reptile without legs that lives underground and looks like a worm

worm salamander
  • Specialized
9.1

A small thin salamander that looks like a worm and lives on the Pacific coast of the United States

A small thin snake that looks like a worm and lives under stones or logs

worm wheel
  • Specialized
8.4

A gear that fits with a screw-shaped gear to turn movement at a right angle

Surface Forms

worm singular
worms plural

Etymology

The mechanical worm gets its name from the animal because the screw-shaped part looks like a long coiled creature, and the old word wyrm meant 'snake' or 'creeping thing'. So a worm in a machine is the threaded part that turns and moves the wheel.