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
  • Still, Kalshi has been encroaching on the sports betting operators in a broader sense.
    Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Obama tried to assuage Maron’s/our fears about encroaching fascism.
    Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Finally, Aleah and Tom end up at the house, slowly sneaking around and trying to maintain the upper hand in a dazzling shoot-out.
    Grace Byron, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
  • But the main action involved Norman Reedus’ Daryl sneaking into El Alcazar and killing pretty much everyone there of any villainous importance, while also freeing Roberto’s girlfriend Justina (Candela Saitta).
    Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Even though the regular season is creeping closer by the hour and the anticipation of it all is wafting through the city, Charles Lee insists not much has changed.
    Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Cold temps may be creeping in, but your travel dreams don’t have to hibernate.
    Kimberly Richardson, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Continue reading … COZY CONNECTIONS – Mamdani hands big check to radical group boasting about infiltrating his campaign.
    , FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
  • This cannot be accomplished without infiltrating and taking over the PLO, something Hamas has never managed to do.
    Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Tropical Storm Melissa is crawling through the Caribbean Sea, threatening to unleash life-threatening flooding and mudslides across parts of the region later this week.
    Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
  • These flat robots have multiple modes of movement, capable of jumping or crawling at multiple speeds.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Also on Sunday, Sturm scratched second line center Casey Mittelstadt, moving Pavel Zacha to center and re-inserting Khusnutdinov back into the lineup and onto the second line.
    Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Back in 2019 the Dolphins were intentionally tanking the team, trading quality players before the season and routinely inserting players claimed off the waiver wire into the lineup.
    Omar Kelly Updated October 19, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • The Biden administration’s prevailing wage rule has also raised concerns that snaking requirements backed by Big Labor are throttling the industry.
    Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • An op-ed about a country slipping and state failure.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Oct. 2025
  • He is accused of slipping incapacitating drugs into victims’ food or drinks before assaulting them between 2021 and 2024.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 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 23 Oct. 2025.

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