maggot
Americannoun
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a soft-bodied, legless larva of certain flies.
-
Archaic. an odd fancy; whim.
noun
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the soft limbless larva of dipterous insects, esp the housefly and blowfly, occurring in decaying organic matter
-
rare a fancy or whim
Etymology
Origin of maggot
1425–75; late Middle English magot, magat, unexplained variant of maddock, Middle English mathek < Old Norse mathkr; akin to Danish maddik maggot, Old English matha, mathu grub, maggot, Old High German mado maggot
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.
Wherever the light touched, they rippled and heaved like a maggot-.’ riddled carcass.
From Literature
The report, seen by the BBC, said: "There were signs of decomposition present... maggots were seen crawling on his body."
From BBC
Once the eggs hatch, the maggots burrow into flesh in a corkscrew motion, which is how the insect got its name.
From Science Daily
A parasitic fly whose maggots can infest living livestock, birds, pets and humans, could threaten California soon.
From Los Angeles Times
These include unexplained skin lesions, feeling larvae move within a wound or the nose, mouth or eyes and seeing maggots in an open sore.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
