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# worm

«worm» in Mova's school dictionary: **a small animal with a long, soft, thin body and no legs…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a worm, worms); verb (worm, worms, wormed, worming)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A worm is a small animal with a long, soft, thin body and no legs or backbone, like an earthworm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#m1)

2) Worms are also tiny animals that can live inside people or pets and make them ill. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#m2)

3) To worm your way means to move slowly through a tight place, or to get something by being sneaky. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#m3)

4) To worm a pet means to give it medicine to kill worms. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#m4)

5) In old folk tales, a worm can also be a huge dragon-like monster. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In science, earthworms are invertebrates that live in soil; they mix and loosen the soil and help plants grow, and birds eat them. They come up after rain. In gardening, worms are friends of plants; a wormery turns food scraps into compost. In pet care, cats and dogs need worming medicine regularly, and you wash hands after touching pets or soil. In stories, «The early bird catches the worm» means getting up early helps you succeed. A «bookworm» loves reading.

### examples

- The blackbird pulled a worm out of the lawn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x1)
- Earthworms help keep soil healthy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x2)
- Lots of worms come up after it rains. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x3)
- We need to worm the dog this month. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x4)
- Wash your hands after digging for worms. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x5)
- My sister is a real bookworm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x6)
- The early bird catches the worm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x7)
- A silkworm is really a caterpillar. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x8)
- Then said the Laidly Worm again: [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/#x9)

### note

Countable: a worm, worms. Myth: if you cut an earthworm in half, both halves become two worms — not true; usually only the head end may survive. Worms are not insects (no legs, no six legs). Many animals called worms (silkworm, mealworm) are actually caterpillars or larvae.

### In the corpora

- [The alligator snapping turtle lures fish with a pink worm-shaped flap on its tongue and then snaps its jaws shut.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/31-turtles-and-tortoises/16/)
- [Chickens scratch and peck for seeds, worms and insects; they are omnivores and will even eat mice and small frogs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs/7/)
- [A worm has no legs, and a snail or slug has one wide muscly foot instead of legs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/217-worms-snails-and-slugs/16/)
- [Gulls follow a tractor ploughing a field, because ploughing turns up worms and grubs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/223-gulls-chip-thieves-rain-dances-and-salty-water/12/)
- [In autumn farmers plough and sow winter wheat or barley, and gulls and rooks follow the plough to snatch worms and grubs.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/349-a-year-on-a-farm-lambing-haymaking-harvest-and-winter-feeding/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «worm» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/worm/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.