dew-worm

American

[doo-wurm, dyoo-] / ˈduˌwɜrm, ˈdyu- /

Or dew worm

noun

Chiefly Inland North and Canadian.

the common earthworm.

dew-worm British

noun

any large earthworm that is found on the ground at night and is used as fishing bait

"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 dew-worm

before 1000; Old English dēaw-wyrm (not recorded in ME); see dew, 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.

In fact, for chronobiology, which focuses on organisms' internal clocks, this distant relative of the dew worm has become one of the most important model species.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2024

This bird I reared and kept alive till late in January; when it fell suddenly from its perch, while feeding on a rather large dew worm.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 381, July 18, 1829 by Various

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