angleworm

American

[ang-guhl-wurm] / ˈæŋ gəlˌwɜrm /

noun

Chiefly Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S.

an earthworm, as used for bait in angling.

angleworm British

/ ˈæŋɡəlˌwɜːm /

noun

an earthworm used as bait by anglers

"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

Regionalisms

See earthworm.

Etymology

Origin of angleworm

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; angle ² + worm

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Faced by a committee of angleworm lovers, Carroll Kjellman ... admitted he planted strips of rubber in the soil.

From Time Magazine Archive

He also offered to eat a bug for a nickel, an angleworm for a dime and a beetle for a quarter.

From Time Magazine Archive

It considered the mysteries and incantations of fishing, from spitting on angleworm segments to affixing trout cosmetics and bass liniments.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hemmed in by salt marshes, clinging to the angleworm course of the chocolate-colored Hooghly River, the city of Calcutta's 4,000,000 people inhabit an area about half the size of the District of Columbia.

From Time Magazine Archive

Won’t they take a fly?” asked Bascomb, as Swickey crocheted the hook through a fat angleworm.

From Lost Farm Camp by Knibbs, Harry Herbert

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