worm

noun19

1. •
   a creature of the wet earth, with a long round body that has neither legs nor bones
2. •
   More loosely, any of various tubular invertebrates resembling annelids but not closely related to them, such as velvet worms, acorn worms, flatworms, or roundworms. See Appendix:English worms.
3. •
   (informal) A maggot or any other insect larva with similar shape and behavior.

   • Those little wriggling worms are the larvae of flies who laid eggs here.
4. •
   A self-replicating program that propagates through a network by copying itself, differing from a virus which seeks to propagate by inserting its code into other executable files.

   • When Trevor opened his email, a worm spread to 100 people in his address book.
5. •
   A contemptible or devious being.

   • Don't try to run away, you little worm!
6. •
   A dance, or dance move, in which the dancer lies on the floor and undulates the body horizontally thereby moving forwards.
7. •
   (figurative) An internal tormentor; something that gnaws or afflicts one’s mind with remorse.

   • The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul! — 1593
8. •
   Anything helical, especially the thread of a screw.

   • If the Worms of the Nut or Spindle be worn, the Spindle must be examin'd by the Smith — 1683
9. •
   A spiral instrument or screw, often like a double corkscrew, used for drawing balls from firearms.
10. •
    The spiral wire of a corkscrew.
11. •
    The condensing tube of a still, often curved and wound to save space.
12. •
    A short revolving screw whose threads drive, or are driven by, a worm wheel or rack by gearing into its teeth.
13. •
    A graphical representation of the total runs scored across a number of overs.
14. •
    A muscular band in the tongue of some animals, such as dogs; the lytta.
15. •
    The lytta.
16. •
    A strip of linked tiles sharing parallel edges in a tiling.
17. •
    (literary, no longer used) Any creeping or crawling animal, such as a snake (cf. “dragon”; blindworm, slowworm, “legless lizard”), snail, or caterpillar.
18. •
    (literary, no longer used) A dragon, today especially Germanic dragon, more often of the serpentine or wingless type, for example sea serpent, but also any kind of dragon.

    • a. 1398, John Trevisa, transl. Bartholomeus Anglicus as De Proprietatibus Rerum (MS BL Add. 27944), Vol. I, p. 628: — 1398
19. •
    (literary, no longer used) Either a mythical "dragon" (especially wingless), a gigantic sea serpent, or a creature that resembles a Mongolian death worm.

verb10

1. •
   To make (one's way) with a crawling motion.

   • We wormed our way through the underbrush.
2. •
   (figurative) To work one's way by artful or devious means.

   • When debates and fretting jealousy / Did worm and work within you more and more, / Your colour faded. — 1633
3. •
   (figurative) To work (one's way or oneself) (into) gradually or slowly; to insinuate.

   • He wormed his way into the organization.
4. •
   To move with one's body dragging the ground.

   • Inch by inch I wormed along the secret passageway, flat to the ground, not once raising my head, hardly daring to pull a full breath[…]. — 1919
5. •
   To effect, remove, drive, draw, or the like, by slow and secret means.

   • They […]find themselves wormed out of all power. — 1731
6. •
   (figurative) To drag out of, to get information that someone is reluctant or unwilling to give (through artful or devious means or by pleading or asking repeatedly).

   • They[…]wormed things out of me that I had no desire to tell. — 1849
7. •
   To deworm (an animal).
8. •
   To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving.

   • Worm and parcel with the lay; turn and serve the other way.
9. •
   To clean by means of a worm; to draw a wad or cartridge from, as a firearm.
10. •
    To cut the worm, or lytta, from under the tongue of (a dog, etc.) for the purpose of checking a disposition to gnaw, and formerly supposed to guard against canine madness.

    • The men[…] assisted the laird in his sporting parties, wormed his dogs, and cut the ears of his terrier puppies. — 1815

noun1

1. •
   Initialism of write once, read many.