maggot

noun

mag·​got ˈma-gət 

1

: a soft-bodied legless grub that is the larva of a dipterous insect (such as the housefly)

2

: a fantastic or eccentric idea : whim

maggoty

ˈma-gə-tē 

adjective

Synonyms of maggot

• whim
• bee

Examples of maggot in a Sentence

The rotten meat was infested with maggots.

the last maggot he got in his head resulted in a disastrous extramarital affair

Recent Examples on the Web

Then, eggs hatch maggots that burrow and eat live tissue. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026

The agency said patients should not try to remove or dispose of the maggots themselves. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026

This includes a weeklong winter power outage in 2019, and reports, as recently as last year, of maggots in inmates’ meals. —Diego Lasarte, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2026

The kitchen of the restaurant is crawling with maggots, the damp eats away at the tatami mats and wallpaper decorated with a design of a forest landscape. —Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 6 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English magot, probably alteration of mathek, maddok; akin to Middle Low German mēdeke maggot, Old Norse mathkr, Old English matha

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing maggot

• apple maggot

Rhymes for maggot

• agate
• fagot

Kids Definition

maggot

noun

mag·​got ˈmag-ət 

: a soft-bodied legless larva of a two-winged fly (as the housefly)

Medical Definition

maggot

noun

mag·​got ˈmag-ət 

: a soft-bodied legless grub that is the larva of a dipteran fly (as the housefly) and develops usually in decaying organic matter or as a parasite in plants or animals