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muckworm

[muhk-wurm]
noun
  1. (not in technical use) the larva of any of several insects, as the dung beetle, which lives in or beneath manure.
  2. a miser.
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Origin of muckworm

First recorded in 1590–1600; muck + worm
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for muckworm

Historical Examples

  • "In that he lied like the muckworm that he is," I exclaimed.

    The Strolling Saint

    Raphael Sabatini

  • You may hang the muckworm, and what shall that profit any one?

    The Lion's Skin

    Rafael Sabatini

  • He is as handsome a young fellow as ever was hatched from a muckworm.

  • Peace, Muckworm, or my Sword shall stop thy Breath for ever.

    The Stolen Heiress

    Susanna Centlivre

  • The "muckworm" Cottington, as Browning calls him, suggested the sentence which was carried out.

    Browning's England

    Helen Archibald Clarke

British Dictionary definitions for muckworm

muckworm

noun
  1. any larva or worm that lives in mud
  2. informal a miser
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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