muckworm

[ muhk-wurm ]

/ ˈmʌkˌwɜrm /

noun

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

a miser.

Nearby words

muckrake, muckraker, muckrakers, muckraking, mucksweat, muckworm, mucky, muckymuck, mucluc, muco-, mucocele

Origin of muckworm

First recorded in 1590–1600; muck + worm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for muckworm

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
You may hang the muckworm, and what shall that profit any one?
The Lion's Skin|Rafael Sabatini
The "muckworm" Cottington, as Browning calls him, suggested the sentence which was carried out.
Browning's England|Helen Archibald Clarke
"In that he lied like the muckworm that he is," I exclaimed.
The Strolling Saint|Raphael Sabatini

Peace, Muckworm, or my Sword shall stop thy Breath for ever.
The Stolen Heiress|Susanna Centlivre

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