earwig

American  

[eer-wig] / ˈɪərˌwɪg /

noun

1. any of numerous elongate, nocturnal insects of the order Dermaptera, having a pair of large, movable pincers at the rear of the abdomen.

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verb (used with object)

earwigged, earwigging

1. to fill the mind of with prejudice by insinuations.

earwig British  

/ ˈɪəˌwɪɡ /

noun

1. any of various insects of the order Dermaptera, esp Forficula auricularia ( common European earwig ), which typically have an elongated body with small leathery forewings, semicircular membranous hindwings, and curved forceps at the tip of the abdomen

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verb

1. informal to eavesdrop

2. archaic (tr) to attempt to influence (a person) by private insinuation

Etymology

Origin of earwig

before 1000; Middle English erwigge, Old English ēarwicga ear insect; from the notion that it enters people's ears. See wiggle

Example Sentences

Amoia also has a 13-inch moth across his throat and chest, a 2.5-inch beetle over his right eye and a 2.5-inch earwig behind his right ear, according to Guinness.

From Fox News • Feb. 2, 2022

“Monster Hunter” — 80 percent monsters, 20 percent hunter — proves definitively that neither gaping wounds nor a gargantuan armored earwig can stop Milla Jovovich.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2020

I was finally given a radio, but I wasn't shown how to use it, so I had to earwig on someone else who was having a lesson.

From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2012

His whole career is an insidious and destructive work of art -- maybe not "termite art," in Manny Farber's oft-misunderstood phrase, but more like earwig art.

From Salon • Jul. 31, 2010

But then there was Carly, looking down at her like she was an earwig.

From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies