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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Relevance
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
  • The men who play in the NFL would have something to say to today’s workers about the encroaching techno-supervision.
    Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The White House is nonetheless fielding complaints, made in private and public, from Republicans who believe Trump is encroaching on Congress’s power of taxation and threatening to send the United States into an economic backslide.
    David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Loomer started sneaking into her fund-raisers.
    Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The shoe’s hook-and-loop closure is another standout feature that keeps feet securely in place and prevents cold air from sneaking in.
    Melony Forcier, Travel + Leisure, 7 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • In the end, the Democrats mostly oriented their demands toward health care—above all, the renewal of expiring Obamacare subsidies—as opposed to, say, prioritizing more abstract ultimatums related to creeping authoritarianism.
    Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Although the start of winter is still a few weeks away, colder temperatures and even snow chances are creeping in.
    Laura L. Davis, Nashville Tennessean, 10 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Tea is approached by PET and tasked with infiltrating the criminal empire of Miran, a ruthless criminal posing as a businessman.
    Allison DeGrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Billitier did have a hell of a story to tell about his decades of undercover work for the FBI, including several years infiltrating a Colombian drug ring in Texas.
    Steve Belanger, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • His fur was singed and bitten, his arm broken, and his mouth crawling with maggots.
    Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Amazon has already taken steps in recent months to prevent external AI agents from crawling its website, including those developed by OpenAI, Google and Meta.
    Ashley Capoot,Annie Palmer, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The discovery helped open the door to more recent developments such as tinkering with the genetic makeup of living things, treating disease by inserting genes into patients, identifying human remains and criminal suspects from DNA samples, and tracing family trees and ancient human ancestors.
    Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2025
  • To prevent the card from becoming soggy, fold a piece of clear tape across the bottom of the card before inserting into the fruit.
    Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Styled by Brad Goreski, Moore wore silver and ruby red drop earrings, a silver bracelet, and snaking rings.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Of course, a raw peak power figure looks impressive on paper but is far from the bottom line when snaking your way up and down mountains of sand in the desert.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The program’s pulse felt faint, its identity slipping further with each loss.
    Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The Buffs dropped their third game in a row at Milan Puskar Stadium, falling 29-22 against the Mountaineers and slipping to 3-7 on a lost season.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 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 13 Nov. 2025.

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