worming

present participle of worm
1
as in encroaching
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife

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2
as in sneaking
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 creeping
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for worming
Verb
  • But if your peonies are flowering less over time or nearby plants are encroaching on their growing space, dividing them in fall is one simple solution.
    Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The general rule is that a property owner in Arizona is allowed, at the property owner’s expense, to trim encroaching roots or branches back to the property line.
    Christopher A. Combs, AZCentral.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Parents sneaking in a third cup before school pickup.
    Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
  • At the time, Simpson looked confused before dancing a jig and sneaking off the stage.
    Ilana Kaplan, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The feelings of postpartum depression — despair, guilt, shame and worthlessness — began creeping in.
    Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
  • With trigger-warning culture on the wane and a brutish permissiveness creeping back into society, corporate scolds have lost much of their power.
    Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The Taliban was and still is adept at infiltrating aid organizations and diverting aid to fill their coffers.
    Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • OneTaste opened its doors in San Francisco in the early two-thousands, as wellness culture was infiltrating the mainstream.
    Thessaly La Force, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The centipede the Redditor found crawling in her bed.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025
  • My death was supposed to be crawling up inside of the locker that the cat used to go in.
    Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Liposuction entails surgically inserting a probe that vacuums out not only body fat, but also fat storage cells.
    Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 29 Aug. 2025
  • In several separate interviews, students and professors described stepping between Kohberger and others – intercepting him in hallways and inserting themselves in conversations for others’ security.
    Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • In the early 1990s, after being dropped from RCA Records at age 39, Crow bought 10 acres of rolling pastures above the snaking West Harpeth River in Franklin, Tennessee, for $175,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.
    Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Brea and La Habra move into a snaking district in Los Angeles County centered on Downey.
    Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Most of them are slipping after the band left the country and finished its domestic tour dates, but the fact that so many full-lengths are still on the books shows in any capacity how the reunion has reignited interest in the rockers’ back catalog.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Saving Thomas Jefferson’s favorite seed Winn also feels the traditions slipping.
    Lila Hempel-Edgers, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Worming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worming. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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