maggots

noun

plural of maggot
as in whims
a sudden impulsive and apparently unmotivated idea or action the last maggot he got in his head resulted in a disastrous extramarital affair

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 maggots Officials said hunters should watch for signs of infection, including visible maggots in wounds, foul-smelling injuries and animals that appear weak or distressed. — Kierra Frazier, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 Around this time, he was treated for an infection in his feet caused by maggots — one of numerous hospitalizations, prompting a call from Adult Protective Services over his care, the filing says. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026 Students came together as a community to ask Cook County School District 130 Superintendent and the board of education to take immediate action to eradicate cockroaches, mold, mice and maggots from their schools. — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026 The creamy white larvae are maggots and have no wings, wing buds, or legs on their soft, tapering bodies. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026 Role Model covered ‘maggots for brains,’ and Sienna Spiro covered my song ‘less’ the other day. — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 27 Aug. 2026 Telltale signs of a screwworm infection include growing wounds or lesions and feeding maggots on living animals. — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026 The screwworm gets its name from the maggots’ habit of burrowing — or screwing — into a wound, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. — Fabiola Sánchez, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026 Unlike most of the maggots, these ones develop in living flesh. — Fiction Non Fiction, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maggots
  1. whims
  2. bees
  3. notions
Noun
  • From here on out, the authorship of Tae-ju’s life is ambiguous, as well as constantly in flux, buffeted by the whims and suggestions of others, as well as by her own impulses.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But elevating the whims of progressive activists and government bureaucrats above the wisdom of the marketplace has proven a costly mistake and undermined consumer choice.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of whims
Noun
  • Plenty of bees, plenty of bonnets — though, thankfully for the women, no overlap between the two.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But now, Beewise hives are equipped with Robi, a wheeled unit that drives up to the hives and uses robotic arms to reach inside to treat the bees, just as a human beekeeper would.
    — Rachel Sacks, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of bees
Noun
  • Western traditions of symmetry and notions of linear time are upended.
    — Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • That is followed by one focused on exploring conventional notions of beauty by uncovering the unexpected draw of unpleasant scents with Naïla Hamayed, Givaudan’s fragrance evaluator.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of notions

Browse Nearby Words

maggot
maggots
magi
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Maggots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maggots. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of emissary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All