worm

verb

Definition of wormnext
1
as in to encroach
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to infiltrate
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way over a period of several years, the undercover agent was able to worm his way into the drug kingpin's confidence

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to snake
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the cat silently wormed along the ground as it snuck up on the bird

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of worm The flea larvae, which look like tiny maggots, worm their way into the carpet or mattress, feeding on the flea dirt that their parents left behind, says Benson. — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 28 May 2026 OpenAI’s ChatGPT has wormed its way into more and more parts of consumers’ lives, from work to their children’s education, and even mental health and romantic relationships. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 16 May 2026 The best success comes using it in jungle-thick cover, worming a minnow down between uncooperative branches. — John Phillips, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026 In terms of the complex set design — which looks like a facsimile of the same passage over and over but with subtle differences worming their way in — Kawamura and his team built two identical corridors for cinematographer Keisuke Imamura to follow the actors through, third- and first-person-style. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for worm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worm
  1. encroach
  2. infiltrate
  3. snake
  4. insert
  5. crawl
  6. sneak
  7. creep
  8. slip
Verb
  • Uber Technologies will lay off about 3,300 employees, or 10% of staff, in its largest cuts since the COVID-19 pandemic, to better navigate the rise of robotaxis encroaching on its ride-hailing business.
    — Akash Sriram, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
  • But what do athletes think of robots not only encroaching on their turf, but surpassing their achievements?
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of encroach
Verb
  • Valdes was a Cuban intelligence asset tasked with infiltrating Cuban exile organizations since at least the 1990s, according to ICE.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
  • This coexistence of the everyday and the extraordinary suggested to me a cinematic way of approaching death – not as a spectacular intrusion, but as a presence that slowly infiltrates daily life.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of infiltrate
Verb
  • The estate sprawls across 77 acres of pastoral tranquility, with trails snaking through the woods, oak trees towering over lawns, and birdsong filling the air.
    — Brian Cicioni, Travel + Leisure, 1 Sep. 2026
  • But the real action was in line for the Breen meet and greet, which snaked across the lobby of the Regal’s mezzanine level after the second screening.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of snake
Verb
  • Those margins raise the prospect that similar language could be inserted into any further budget deals without triggering opposition.
    — John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Extending Zero Trust To Code Applying zero trust to code execution does not mean inserting manual review into every software path or replacing controls such as EDR, vulnerability management, SAST, SCA, SBOMs, signing or provenance.
    — Ken Ammon, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of insert
Verb
  • Installation doesn’t require crews to manually crawl along hundreds of miles of line.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Leao Tires subbrand has a huge range of truck, bus, and tractor tires for everything from daily driving on pavement to slow crawling through muddy farm fields.
    — Michael Febbo, The Drive, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of crawl
Verb
  • Manual friction sneaks in as systems fail to scale with growth or suffer from poor implementation.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Both were placed on IR-return, which allowed 23-year-old Jacob Bayer to sneak onto the roster after a fantastic camp.
    — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of sneak
Verb
  • The location opened Monday, welcoming a consistent rush of customers into the space, even as the afternoon waned and crept into the neither-lunch-nor-dinner hours.
    — Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Up to half of the more than 200,000 mountain glaciers — vast, slow moving rivers of ice that creep across the world’s peaks — are expected to disappear by the end of this century, even if ambitious climate goals are met.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of creep
Verb
  • The metalpoint tool sometimes slips or skitters; the fountain pen sometimes stops working—though, deprived of vision, the artist is unaware, and keeps drawing the now-invisible line.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The 49ers, an otherwise good team, have for the past couple of months been weaving and slipping bad news like a boxer trying to avoid a knockout punch.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of slip

Browse Nearby Words

worldwide
worm
wormed
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Cite this Entry

“Worm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worm. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on worm

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about worm

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