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to worm

to worm

12 8.8
To get information from someone by quietly asking and encouraging them to talk
  • verb
  • /wɜrm/
  • Informal
translation icon : sonsacar
  • You've managed to worm your way onto the team and bring your weirdo, little friend along, too.

He's been trying to worm his way out sometime.

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Examples

  • Little by little, Pancho wormed the story out of him.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • You're crafting quite the little role for yourself as you worm your way into the Manzo family.

    Blog text (18)
  • So this is how one worms one's way into my castle.

  • Then she shows up, worms her way into the family, and gets me fired.

  • And you're not trying to worm your way back into my service?

  • Well, I finally wormed it out of him.

  • And he would not find it easy to worm his way back into her good graces.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • We'll try and get montag here on this show and see if we can't worm some of his dark secrets out of him.

  • You're trying to worm your way back into favour by dreaming up some far-fetched drama, of which you yourself, naturally, are the hero.

  • He had to worm his way through several layers of bureaucracy to get his project approved.

Synonyms

to badger
vsto worm
39 4.7

To annoy someone by asking them the same thing many times

aims to obtain information or items rather than just annoy or pester
to pump
vsto worm
18 7.4

Ask someone many questions to get information

uses indirect or sly persistent effort rather than only direct questioning

Antonyms

1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

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

How Intrusive

to pry
66 5.3
to worm
  • Informal
12 8.8
to probe
  • Literature
35 5.1
to question
570 1.0
to ask
1.0

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

To worm information out of someone uses the picture of a worm slipping out by slow movement, from the old word wyrm meaning 'to creep' or 'to wriggle'. So to worm a secret out of someone is to get it slowly and carefully, often by sly questions.