measuring worm

American  

[mezh-er-ing wurm] / ˈmɛʒ ər ɪŋ ˌwɜrm /

Or measuringworm

noun

Older Use.

1. inchworm.

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measuring worm British  

noun

1. Also called: looper.   inchworm.  the larva of a geometrid moth: it has legs on its front and rear segments only and moves in a series of loops

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Etymology

Origin of measuring worm

An Americanism first recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

measuring worm

Kate inched over her own thoughts like a measuring worm.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

"See that measuring worm crawling up my skirt!" cried Mrs. Bjenks.

From Toaster's Handbook Jokes, Stories, and Quotations by C. E. (Clara Elizabeth) Fanning

The only positive benefit which occurs to me is that the measuring worm, which formerly infested all our vegetation, is now very nearly extinct through the instrumentality of the sparrows.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 363, December 16, 1882 by Various

The newly hatched boll worm walks like a geometrical larva or looper, a measuring worm as it was called.

From Thirty Years a Slave by Louis Hughes

After a hard fight, in the course of which I was stung twice, I unseated the trio and took the measuring worm away from them.

From Jungle Peace by William Beebe