wormed

past tense of worm
1
as in encroached
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife

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Relevance
2
as in infiltrated
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

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3
as in crept
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the cat silently wormed along the ground as it snuck up on the bird

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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 wormed Over the next several decades, and countless strangulations, Homer and Bart wormed their way into our hearts. Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026 The idea wormed its way through the State Fair machinery, and with a month and a half to go until gates opened, EatFuti heard they’d be allowed to test a pilot program. Courtney Crowder, Des Moines Register, 14 Aug. 2026 Gemini has wormed its way into virtually every Google product and service, powering email organization in Gmail, document summary in Drive, and much more. ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2026 Like parasites, those jukebox musicals wormed their way into Broadway and slowly killed the medium. Jesse Eisenberg, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 OpenAI’s ChatGPT has wormed its way into more and more parts of consumers’ lives, from work to their children’s education, and even mental health and romantic relationships. Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 16 May 2026 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 After a scramble from Baltimore’s corner kick, Kerr’s header at the back post wormed through a thicket of defenders, and Cuthbert had the final touch. Cerys Jones, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025 This story has wormed its way into all levels of British cultural output. Will Collins, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wormed
Verb
  • In what his dad (Ed Harris) calls the decline of humanity, the club is being encroached on by pickleballers clamoring for more courts.
    Christine Ledbetter, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • But the somatosensory cortex, the touch cortex, has like encroached upon it.
    Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Andrew whines about the prattling women who’ve infiltrated his home, firmly establishing that all men are, in fact, terrible.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Subsequent reports revealed that OpenAI’s agents had previously infiltrated twoother websites months before the Hugging Face incident.
    Washington Post, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • But doubt crept into the stands as the game wore on, the mounting tension at times outshining the spiritwear.
    Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Something like hope crept toward me when my oncologist was vulnerable about her own health.
    David Elkowitz, STAT, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • To beat this issue, the MIT team inserted a razor-thin layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) between two metal electrodes.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2026
  • In the meantime, County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has inserted herself into the saga.
    Lynette Rice, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Suki, who had been with her new family only a few weeks, had crawled into an opening in an entertainment center cabinet and could not get out.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Every window of every building the bus crawled past opened a severe yearning in me, as though my life here had become abstract or theoretical.
    Hisham Matar, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Expedia — Shares of the online travel company slipped about 1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight.
    Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Stocks slipped Tuesday after oil prices and the bond market cranked up the pressure on Wall Street.
    Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Demands for the exclusive event pins exceeded common sense and ventured into the absurd with haphazard lines that snaked through the convention center.
    Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2026
  • But the real action was in line for the Breen meet and greet, which snaked across the lobby of the Regal’s mezzanine level after the second screening.
    Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Armstrong even sneaked ahead and pulled off a proper jump scare as himself, pointing out a mirror that created a hiding spot for performers.
    Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Hutton snuck in a right-footed shot from a narrow angle in the 73rd minute, trimming the lead.
    ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Wormed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wormed. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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