as in nymph
a young wingless often wormlike form (as a grub or caterpillar) that hatches from the egg of many insects the larva looked ugly, but it was destined to hatch into a beautiful butterfly

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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 larva Adult female flies can lay up to 400 eggs at a time, and each larva in a human patient has to be physically dug out from infected flesh. Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025 New World screwworms are the parasitic larva of a metallic blue blow fly species called Cochliomyia hominivorax. Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025 The parasite — the larva of the New World screwworm fly — can devastate cattle herds and is rife in parts of Central America and Mexico. Patrick Smith, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025 Both beetles and moths go through a four-stage life cycle of egg, larva (grub), pupa, and adult. Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for larva
Recent Examples of Synonyms for larva
nymph
Noun
  • Many of the old stories feature vilas, nymphs or fairies of the forests and mountains.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Inspectors spotted two live German cockroach nymphs at a storage cabinet above a two-compartment sink and a live adult roach on the floor near the ice machine.
    Sarah Linn, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Larva.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/larva. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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