shipworm UK /ˈʃɪpwɜːm/US /ˈʃɪpwɝm/ noun1 •Any of several wormlike marine molluscs (not true worms) of the family Teredinidae that bore through the wooden hulls of ships and other woody material immersed in salt water; specifically, the naval shipworm or turu (Teredo navalis), the type species of the genus Teredo.[W]e have suffered seriously in our dock yards and harbors by the operations of the shipworm, to which the soundest and hardest oak offers no impediment. — 1852 formsshipworms
