muckworm

[ muhk-wurm ]

/ ˈmʌkˌwɜrm /

Save This Word!

noun

(not in technical use) the larva of any of several insects, as the dung beetle, which lives in or beneath manure.

a miser.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of muckworm

First recorded in 1590–1600; muck + worm

Words nearby muckworm

muckraker, muckrakers, mucksweat, muck-up, muck-up day, muckworm, mucky, muckymuck, mucluc, muco-, mucoid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use muckworm in a sentence

He is as handsome a young fellow as ever was hatched from a muckworm.
The International Magazine, Vol. IV. New-York, December 1, 1851. No. V.|Various
The "muckworm" Cottington, as Browning calls him, suggested the sentence which was carried out.
Browning's England|Helen Archibald Clarke
Peace, Muckworm, or my Sword shall stop thy Breath for ever.
The Stolen Heiress|Susanna Centlivre
"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

British Dictionary definitions for muckworm

muckworm

/ (ˈmʌkˌwɜːm) /

noun

any larva or worm that lives in mud

informal a miser

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