earworm

¹ American  

[eer-wurm] / ˈɪərˌwɜrm /

noun

1. a tune or part of a song that repeats in one’s mind.

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verb (used with object)

1. to work (itself or its way) into a person’s mind.

   The Pepsi jingles have earwormed their way into my head.

earworm ² American  

[eer-wurm] / ˈɪərˌwɜrm /

noun

1. corn earworm.

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earworm British  

/ ˈɪəˌwɜːm /

noun

1. informal an irritatingly catchy tune

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Etymology

Origin of earworm¹

First recorded in 1980–85; loan translation of German Ohrwurm “catchy tune, earwig”

Origin of earworm²

First recorded in 1880–85; ear ² ( def. ) + worm ( def. ) (in the sense “small creeping animal”)

Explanation

An earworm is a catchy song that gets stuck in your head — like a tune from a commercial that you can't stop humming no matter what you do. Historically, the word earworm was used for various bugs, such as the earwig or the bollworm. People still refer to corn earworms, which can destroy crops. But at some point around the 1980s, the word gained a new meaning: an annoyingly catchy song. These songs wriggle their way into your brain — and stay there — the way a corn earworm might wriggle its way into an ear of corn. Scientists have yet to find a cure for chronic earworms, perhaps because they're too distracted by the songs stuck in their heads!

Example Sentences

In the 1950s and ’60s, there would be earworm TV-show themes—from “Have Gun—Will Travel,” “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,” “Rawhide”—but over the decades that followed, corral-based hits became rarities.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

The two Houston-raised rappers teamed up on the “Can’t Say,” an atmospheric earworm powered by a moody trap beat and a surplus of stylistic autotune.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026

I Quit's first single Relationships is a glossy pop earworm that first came to Danielle on a flight home from Haim's 2017 Australian tour.

From BBC • Dec. 13, 2025

Because the song was Where Is My Husband!, a blistering pop-funk throwback that became an instant earworm.

From BBC • Sep. 29, 2025

But sometimes a worm, called the earworm, which is like the tomato worm, will appear during June and eat the tips of the young ears.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy