worm

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

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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

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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

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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 After a scramble from Baltimore’s corner kick, Kerr’s header at the back post wormed through a thicket of defenders, and Cuthbert had the final touch. Cerys Jones, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025 This story has wormed its way into all levels of British cultural output. Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025 But Donaggio prefers to worm his way into your brain — and into the deepest pit of fears in your stomach. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025 The trailer revealed that Don is the biological father of Blue, and Blue’s single mother, Dixie, appears to be hatching a secret plan to get Blue to worm his way into the vast Hart family fortune. Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for worm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worm
Verb
  • The White House is also conceding by reversing federal worker layoffs and committing to encroach less on Congress' spending authority.
    Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Salt water from the encroaching ocean threatens the drinking-water supply.
    Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Fighting inside the city has intensified in the past few days, after Russian troops successfully infiltrated it.
    Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Heavily infiltrated by Venezuelan moles, the Gideon operation ended in disaster.
    Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Long lines snaked around the terminal Sunday.
    Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Two incumbents — west Charlotte’s Thelma Byers-Bailey and Summer Nunn, whose district snakes along the county’s southern border — chose not to run for reelection to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education.
    Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The woman had catheters inserted in her about 30 times over the years, but never had an experience like the one with Miller, the prosecutor said.
    City News Service, Oc Register, 8 Nov. 2025
  • The clerks inserted memory sticks from the tabulators with results from their local election into the laptop and a program transmitted them to the county through a dedicated, secured network.
    Christina Hall, Freep.com, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • His fur was singed and bitten, his arm broken, and his mouth crawling with maggots.
    Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Amazon has already taken steps in recent months to prevent external AI agents from crawling its website, including those developed by OpenAI, Google and Meta.
    Ashley Capoot,Annie Palmer, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Brissett and the Cardinals responded immediately, marching 74 yards in 11 plays before Brissett snuck one across at the goal line.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Tibetan parents, fathers mostly, also snuck into India to leave their children at the school.
    Diaa Hadid, NPR, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • After getting off to a hot start from 3-point range to open the season, entering the game shooting over 46% from long distance as a team, the chilly weather crept into Halton, cooling off the green and white.
    Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 12 Nov. 2025
  • In the end, the Democrats mostly oriented their demands toward health care—above all, the renewal of expiring Obamacare subsidies—as opposed to, say, prioritizing more abstract ultimatums related to creeping authoritarianism.
    Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The program’s pulse felt faint, its identity slipping further with each loss.
    Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • After the premiere in Hollywood, Brown slipped into a red mini corset dress.
    Janelle Ash, FOXNews.com, 8 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Worm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worm. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.

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