glowworm

[ gloh-wurm ]

See synonyms for glowworm on Thesaurus.com

noun

the wingless female or larva of the European beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, which emits a sustained greenish light.
any of various other beetle larvae or wingless females that emit a glow rather than a flash of light.

Origin of glowworm

1300–50; Middle English. See glow, worm

Words Nearby glowworm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use glowworm in a sentence

A glowworm is not discerned in the sunshine, though it glister in the dark.
A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4) | Richard Baxter
Every body probably knows, that the male glowworm is a winged, erratic animal, yet may not have seen him.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 13, No. 361, Supplementary Issue (1829) | Various
Should the sun beg from the glowworm, and should the momentary spark excite the envy of the source of light?
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 6 (of 12) | Robert G. Ingersoll
She looked down the dusky lanes, where glowworm lanterns began to bob and wink.
Dragon's blood | Henry Milner Rideout
With a slim rubber band he fastened a match across the double barrels at the front sight and beneath this placed a glowworm.
The Three Sapphires | W. A. Fraser

British Dictionary definitions for glow-worm

glow-worm

noun

a European beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, the females and larvae of which bear luminescent organs producing a greenish light: family Lampyridae
any of various other beetles or larvae of the family Lampyridae

See also firefly (def. 1)

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

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