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to worm

to worm

14 4.6
To move by twisting and wriggling to get through a small space
  • verb
  • /wɜrm/
: deslizarse
  • The OmniTread Search and Rescue Robot has been designed to worm its way through debris to look for trapped people.
  • worm its way
  • worm one's way around

Examples

  • I watched as they wormed their way up the slippery brace.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Told you I'd worm myself in somehow.

  • Well in that case I guess I'll just have to worm myself in.

  • Worming its way across the surface, trying to find a way inside.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • For months, teams and individual agents wormed their way into the planet's population, industrial and military centres.

  • I pulled back the entrance flap, waiting for Raven to worm her way in.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • A moment later, Hawthorne wormed his way through the narrow opening.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • It nudged past the red ball and wormed its way into the circle.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • By the time he wormed himself back into the pit beside her, Dan was bathed in cold sweat and puffing hard.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • He tried to worm his way through the crowded room without being noticed.

Synonyms

to twist
vsto worm
295 1.7

To turn something so it becomes a curved or spiral shape

describes slow sliding turns specifically rather than general turning
to squirm
vsto worm
72 3.9

To make small twisting movements of your body because you feel uncomfortable

is neutral motion rather than emotion-driven small moves
to snake
vsto worm
34 4.3

To move in a long, curving line

is slower and closer to small-body sliding and turning
to slither
vsto worm
32 4.3

To move smoothly and quietly like a snake along the ground

adds twisting slow crawl rather than only quiet gliding
to wriggle
vsto worm
26 3.7

To twist and turn the body with small quick movements to get free

is slower and more sliding rather than quick escape moves
writhing
vsto worm
9 6.0

Moving by twisting and turning like a snake

is calmer and slower, showing gentle slide-like turns
to corkscrew
vsto worm
7 6.8

To move in a twisting spiral path

is slower and less spiralling, focusing on gentle slide turns
slithering
vsto worm
3 4.3

Moving smoothly and quietly like a snake

includes gradual turning and slow crawl as well as sliding
wriggling
vsto worm
2 3.4

Moving with small twisting and squirming movements like a worm

is more about slow sliding turns rather than constant small bends

Antonyms

119 1.0

Stay upright in one place without moving

Idioms

the worm turns
  • Informal
2 9.9

A change when someone treated badly starts to fight back

People who act early are more likely to succeed

oh worm
  • Slang
1 9.9

A short phrase people say to show mild disappointment

1 9.1

To be very ashamed and think you are worthless

Compounds

4 7.9

Rotten food that is not safe to eat

Guinea worm
  • Specialized
2 9.5

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

parasitic worm
  • Specialized
1 4.4

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

1 2.1

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

1 7.4

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

Guinea worm disease
  • Specialized
1 6.6

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

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

worm fish
  • Specialized
1 9.9

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

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

tomato worm
  • Specialized
1 7.2

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

1 2.5

A worm that people use as bait to catch fish

peanut worm
  • Specialized
1 9.9

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

nematode worm
  • Specialized
1 7.1

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

army worm
  • Specialized
1 7.4

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

1 7.7

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

polychaete worm
  • Specialized
1 9.9

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

annelid worm
  • Specialized
1 7.7

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

worm fence
  • Archaic
1 9.1

A fence made of wooden rails laid in a zigzag pattern

velvet worm
  • Specialized
1 9.8

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

1 8.1

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

beard worm
  • Specialized
1 9.9

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

worm salamander
  • Specialized
1 9.1

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

1 9.9

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

1 8.9

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

worm lizard
  • Specialized
1 9.7

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

oligochaete worm
  • Specialized
1 9.9

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

worm wheel
  • Specialized
1 8.4

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

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

gun worm
  • Archaic
9.9

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

proboscis worm
  • Specialized
9.9

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

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

tongue worm
  • Specialized
9.9

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

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

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

How Slowly

to inch
47 3.0
to worm
14 4.6
to creep
37 2.5
to amble
15 4.8
to walk
∞ 1.0
to dash
67 1.0

Surface Forms

worm infinitive
wormed past
wormed past participle
worming present participle
worms third person singular

Etymology

To worm (move) comes from the same image as the animal wyrm and means 'to creep' or 'to wriggle' along. So to worm out of a place is to twist and slip away slowly like a worm.