1
2
as in to infiltrate
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way
over a period of several years, the undercover agent was able to worm his way into the drug kingpin's confidence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of worm
Guiteau eventually worms his way into an audience, ostensibly seeking an ambassadorship for his dubious contributions to the campaign but, in reality, requesting a path to greatness.
—
Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Popping in and out of the party's campaign headquarters with abandon (Secret Service didn't begin to protect the president until 1901), Guiteau tries to worm his way into Garfield's circle and somehow profit.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Any deal would need to worm its way through the competition regulator.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
We as a community contain (often brain-wormed) multitudes, as evidenced by this year’s plethora gay Halloween costumes.
—Abby Monteil, Them., 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worm
Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Popping in and out of the party's campaign headquarters with abandon (Secret Service didn't begin to protect the president until 1901), Guiteau tries to worm his way into Garfield's circle and somehow profit.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Any deal would need to worm its way through the competition regulator.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Nov. 2025
We as a community contain (often brain-wormed) multitudes, as evidenced by this year’s plethora gay Halloween costumes.
—Abby Monteil, Them., 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for worm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worm
Verb
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Residents in uptown neighborhoods, including Biddleville, McCrorey Heights, Oaklawn Park, Wesley Heights and Wilmore, have said the project would impact their quality of life and encroach on their neighborhoods.—
Desiree Mathurin,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Mar. 2026
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The executive order came amid growing concerns that an expanding College Football Playoff calendar could encroach on the game's traditional date, which since 2009 has been played exclusively on the second Saturday in December.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The bacterium can also infiltrate the bloodstream, inflaming blood vessels, which may leave lasting damage even in people who recover from the initial infection.—
Lauren J. Young,
Scientific American,
21 Mar. 2026
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The sequel to Dhurandhar, which was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in North America at $20 million last year, stars Ranveer Singh as an undercover Indian intelligence agent working to infiltrate Karachi’s criminal syndicates and Pakistani politics.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To accommodate the mass of passengers, the line snakes through baggage claim and around the terminal.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2026
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By the time the Bay Area’s newest H Mart opened Thursday morning, the line to get in numbered hundreds of customers and snaked around the massive building in Dublin.—
Shae Hammond,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Bake on the middle rack of the heated oven until the top is puffed and lightly golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.—
Georgeanne Brennan,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
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During the procedure, a catheter, or tiny flexible tube, is inserted into a blood vessel and snaked into the heart to view the coronary and/or pulmonary arteries up close.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But they are really designed and developed to crawl over and destroy everything.—
Joel Feder,
The Drive,
26 Mar. 2026
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Maritime trade is crawling at Georgia’s ports, but the state authority that operates the nation’s third-busiest cargo terminals isn’t throttling back its expansion efforts.—
Adam Van Brimmer,
AJC.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Where dancing on sticky living room floors, sneaking beers from your parents' refrigerator and bumping music on stereos were hallmarks of adolescence.—
Jane Onyanga-Omara,
USA Today,
20 Mar. 2026
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Teenage boys sneaking to look at pornography is almost a rite of passage.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Yup, those $70,000-a-year-plus-benefits folks the city of San Diego has hired to creep around in the early-morning hours before the garbage trucks come and look for miscreants who have put plastic bags in the blue recycling bins or greenery in the black-now-gray trash bins.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Mar. 2026
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Coastal areas in Los Angeles will see the marine layer creep back in, making for much milder conditions, Gomberg said.—
Sierra van der Brug,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 220 pound warhead slipped through Israeli defenses and slammed into a street, blowing out the windows of an apartment building and sending smoke billowing.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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The Pleiades are at their most spectacular from October to March, after which the cluster slips ever lower in the spring sky, appearing closer to the horizon with each passing night.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Worm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worm. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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