See Also: WORM(dictionary)
worm(1)(dictionary)
worm(2)(dictionary)
worm-eat(dictionary)
cad-worm(dictionary)
worm(encyclopedia)
WORM(dictionary)
Worm, Ole(medicine)
Worm(medicine)
glow-worm(dictionary)

worm(2) (iou)



worm verb. M16.
[from the noun.]
I.
verb trans. Extract the worm or lytta from the tongue of (a dog) as a supposed safeguard against rabies. obsolete exc. Hist. M16.
verb trans.
a. Rid (plants, esp. tobacco) of insect larvae. E17.
b. Treat (a person or an animal) with a preparation designed to expel parasitic worms. M20.
II.
verb intrans. Hunt or catch worms. L16.
Rider Haggard The old thrush goes on worming.
verb trans. Cause to be eaten by worms; in pass., be damaged or destroyed by worms, become wormeaten. E17.
J. Galt The Manse had fallen into a sore state of decaythe doors were wormed on the hinges.
III.
verb trans.
a. Get rid of or expel by persistent or subtle pressure or underhand means (foll. by out); (foll. by out of) deprive or dispossess of (property etc.) by underhand dealing. Now rare or obsolete. L16.
b. Extract (esp. confidential information) by insidious questioning, persistence, or cunning. E18.
A. Craig He would be so sympathetic, he'd worm all their secrets out of them. R. Davies The Notable British Trials series, which he wormed out of the Reserved Shelves in the library.
verb trans. Pry into the secrets of (a person); spy on. E17-E19.
a. verb intrans. Move or progress with a crawling or twisting motion. E17.
b. verb trans. Move (oneself) or make (one's way) with a crawling or twisting motion. (Foll. by in, into.) E19.
Reader's Digest Worming her way into places no one else could reach.
c. verb trans. Cause to move or progress off, down, through, etc., gradually or tortuously. M19.
fig.
a. verb intrans. Foll. by in, into: make one's way insidiously into a person's confidence, a desirable position, etc., esp. with damaging or destructive effect. E17.
Cornhill Magazine Imposters..wormed into his confidence.
b. verb trans. Foll. by in, into: insinuate (oneself) or make (one's way) into a person's favour or confidence, a desirable position, etc., esp. with damaging or destructive effect. E18.
New Republic He isn't the only former Soviet official to have wormed his way into the new order.
IV. techn.
verb trans. Make a screw-thread on. L16.
verb trans.
a. Nautical. Wind spunyarn or small rope spirally round (a rope or cable) to fill the grooves between the strands and render the surface smooth for parcelling and serving. M17.
b. Wind packing strips between (the cores of a multicore electric cable) so as to give a more nearly circular cross-section; wind (conductors) together to form such a cable. E20.
verb trans. Remove the charge or wad from (a muzzle-loading gun) by means of a screw fixed on the end of a rod. E19.
worming ppl adjective winding, twisting; fig. working or advancing insidiously or tortuously: E17.