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hornworm

American  
[hawrn-wurm] / ˈhɔrnˌwɜrm /

noun

  1. the larva of any of several hawk moths, having a hornlike process at the rear of the abdomen.


Etymology

Origin of hornworm

An Americanism dating back to 1670–80; horn + 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.

Garden pests are often highly specialized and named after their favorite food: cabbageworm, corn earworm, tomato hornworm, Colorado potato beetle, cucumber beetle, pea weevil, pepper maggot, Mexican bean beetle, and so on.

From Salon • Aug. 8, 2021

You can also encourage predatory insects such as the parasitic wasp that will eat the tomato hornworm.

From Salon • Aug. 8, 2021

But as with the tomato hornworm, these efforts to disseminate truth did not change how the rumors spread.

From Scientific American • Sep. 3, 2019

But as the tomato hornworm story shows us, our ability has a gaping vulnerability: sometimes the ideas we spread are wrong.

From Scientific American • Sep. 3, 2019

In the long rows of tobacco mounds, children stood in the sun and watched the turkeys eat the hornworm and the devouring beetle off leaves.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

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