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horsehair worm

noun

any long, slender worm of the phylum Nematomorpha, developing parasitically on insects and crustaceans, and free-living as adults in streams and ponds.

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Also called gordian worm, nematomorph.

Origin of horsehair worm

First recorded in 1745–55

Words nearby horsehair worm

Horse Guards, horsehair, horsehair-blight fungus, horsehair fungus, horsehair toadstool, horsehair worm, horsehead, Horsehead Nebula, horsehide, horse latitudes, horselaugh
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for horsehair worm

horsehair worm

noun

another name for hairworm (def. 2)
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