worm-eaten

American

[wurm-eet-n] / ˈwɜrmˌit n /

adjective

eaten into or gnawed by worms.
impaired by time, decayed or antiquated.

worm-eaten British

adjective

eaten into by worms

a worm-eaten table
decayed; rotten
old-fashioned; antiquated

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

unworm-eaten

adjective

Etymology

Origin of worm-eaten

1350–1400; Middle English wormeten; see worm, eat, -en ³

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023