wood borer

noun

1
: a grub that is the wood-boring larva of any of numerous beetles (as a click beetle, longicorn beetle, buprestid, or weevil) compare apple tree borer
2
: a borer (as the peach tree borer) that is the larva of any of various lepidopterous insects and especially of a clearwing moth or a goat moth
3
: a borer that is the larva of a horntail (family Siricidae)
4
: any of several bivalve mollusks (as the teredos and members of the genus Xylophaga) that bore in wood
5
: any of several small crustaceans (as the gribble) that bore in wood

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Cite this Entry

“Wood borer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wood%20borer. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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