Dictionary.com
definitions

glowworm

[gloh-wurm]
See more synonyms for glowworm on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the wingless female or larva of the European beetle, Lampyris noctiluca, which emits a sustained greenish light.
  2. 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for glowworm

firefly, fireworm, glowworm, lampyrid, noctiluca

Examples from the Web for glowworm

Historical Examples of glowworm

  • It wavered in patches, it seemed to stir and creep like the light of a glowworm.

    Youth

    Joseph Conrad

  • Cap's cigarette shone like a glowworm in the shadow of the stack.

    Stanford Stories

    Charles K. Field

  • It may be 'tis but a glowworm now; but 'twill Grow to a fire-drake presently.

    Fiends, Ghosts, and Sprites

    John Nettin Radcliffe

  • "A glowworm could not find its mate," he sings, referring to Walther and Eva.

  • The bodies of the glowworm and firefly always are transparent when filled with flame.

    Motor Matt's Race

    Stanley R. Matthews