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The larva of any member of a large, widespread group of moths is called an inchworm. Also called loopers, inchworms move in a characteristic “inching” or “looping” gait by extending the front part of the body and bringing the rear up to meet it. Resembling twigs or leaf stems, they feed on foliage and can seriously damage or even destroy trees.
Examples of inchworm in a Sentence
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The sight of the Kelly-green jerseys, against the sickly inchworm green of Veterans Stadium’s diabolical artificial turf, got its talons in me.
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Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025
To become an inchworm.
—Country Living, 31 Mar. 2023
Another unremarkable caterpillar—a tiny brown inchworm—represented not just a new species but possibly a new genus.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023
The device is built from a strip of light-responsive polymer that arcs and straightens akin to an inchworm, while liquid crystal elastomers and synthetic magnet patches mimic on either end geckos’ gravity-defying grip.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2023
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Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2025
To become an inchworm.
—Country Living, 31 Mar. 2023
Another unremarkable caterpillar—a tiny brown inchworm—represented not just a new species but possibly a new genus.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023
The device is built from a strip of light-responsive polymer that arcs and straightens akin to an inchworm, while liquid crystal elastomers and synthetic magnet patches mimic on either end geckos’ gravity-defying grip.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for inchworm
Cite this Entry
“Inchworm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inchworm. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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inchworm
noun
inch·worm
ˈinch-ˌwərm 
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