earthworm
Americannoun
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any one of numerous annelid worms that burrow in soil and feed on soil nutrients and decaying organic matter.
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Archaic. a mean or groveling person.
noun
Regionalisms
The earthworm, a commonly used bait for angling, is also called an angleworm in the Northern U.S. and a fishworm in the Northern and Midland U.S. and in New England. It is called a fishing worm in parts of the Midland and Southern U.S., and a wiggler in the Southern U.S. Because the worm often comes to the surface of the earth when the ground is cool or wet, it is also called a nightwalker in New England, a nightcrawler, chiefly in the Northern, North Midland, and Western U.S., and a dew worm, chiefly in the Inland North and Canada. It is also called a red worm in the North Central, South Midland, and Southern U.S.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of earthworm
First recorded in 1400–50, earthworm is from the late Middle English word ertheworm. See earth, worm
Explanation
An earthworm is a small, legless, tube-shaped animal that lives in soil. Gardeners are familiar with earthworms, which are common in healthy garden dirt. Earthworms are not only happy to burrow in the dirt of your garden, they're also incredibly useful — they improve the fertility of soil by converting its organic matter to humus, which helps plants grow. The burrowing of an earthworm is also good for the soil's structure, introducing small tunnels that allow it to drain and air to circulate throughout. They may not be pretty, but earthworms are very helpful.
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.
See Examples For:
Their movement through the sand appears closer to the fluidity of a snake than to the stepwise undulations of an earthworm.
From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2024
“In contrast to the earthworm, you don’t get a deformation of the body shape,” says Jayne.
From Slate ● Mar. 8, 2024
Ragworms are a group of around 500 species of segmented, mostly-marine worms that look a bit like a cross between a centipede and an earthworm.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024
With the aid of machine learning, the team used the combined databases to reconstruct assumed introduction pathways and spread of alien earthworm species.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2024
Justin carefully peeled back the sides of the earthworm to reveal the gray gizzard, the glistening reproductive parts, like miniature white beans fresh from the can.
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
The March full Moon is known as the Worm Moon as it refers to when earthworms begin to emerge from the soil as the weather warms in springtime.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
Now we get the “Slow-Lows,” bottom-feeders who slither on the ground and survive off leftovers from other creatures: earthworms or other easy-to-catch prey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2025
Save the pandas is a more popular slogan than save the earthworms, and most people likely care more about protecting flowers than a rare grass or fungi.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2024
In others, they might plant cover crops to keep their soils from washing away in the off season or even encourage healthy populations of earthworms underground.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2024
They have been found in fish in remote mountain lakes, in earthworms burrowing in soil, in the eggs of birds — and in man himself.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
