Did you know?
Earwigs are small insects that were once thought to crawl into the ears of sleeping people. This isn't true - earwigs prefer moist, dark places under leaves and rocks to human ears - but the superstition led people to name the insect ēarwicga, Old English for "ear insect." Over time, people connected the idea of having an insect in one's ear to situations that involve whispering or speaking privately into someone's ear. The noun earwig came to also mean "a whispering busybody" (though this sense is now considered archaic), and the verb earwig evolved to refer to the acts of such meddlers. In British English, the word is more commonly used to mean "eavesdrop," as in "earwigged on their conversation at the party."
Examples of earwig in a Sentence
Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025
Slugs, snails, and even earwigs will often congregate in these damp spots and be much easier to collect.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 July 2025
Those are highways for the ants and earwigs to crawl into the wall voids and nest and breed.
—Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Sprinkle cinnamon on the soil around your plants to discourage ants, earwigs, and other crawling pests from feeding on them.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 6 June 2025
In this honeymoon suite, there’s not enough space to forage, so the team at Talon Ecological brings them mice — a rare treat for a species that mostly feeds on earwigs and other insects.
—Mark Degraff, The Mercury News, 14 Dec. 2024
Yet European earwigs regularly group together by the hundreds, sometimes mixing things up with other earwig species.
—Tim Vernimmen, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Earwig.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/earwig. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share