silkworm

[ silk-wurm ]

/ ˈsɪlkˌwɜrm /

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noun

the larva of the Chinese silkworm moth, Bombyx mori, which spins a cocoon of commercially valuable silk.

the larva of any of several moths of the family Saturniidae, which spins a silken cocoon.

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Origin of silkworm

before 1000; Middle English sylkewyrme,Old English seolcwyrm.See silk, worm

Words nearby silkworm

silk-screen printing, silk-stocking, silk-tassel, silk tree, silkweed, silkworm, silkworm moth, silky, silky anteater, silky cornel, silky flycatcher

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

How to use silkworm in a sentence

Giving revamped silkworm silk a metallic bath may make the strands both strong and stiff, scientists report October 6 in Matter.
A metal ion bath may make fibers stronger than spider silk|Meghan Rosen|October 6, 2022|Science News
Every kit contained some scientific goody, such as a fingerprinting kit, flexible magnet or silkworm cocoon — including some Things of Science products that definitely wouldn’t fly today, like asbestos-containing fabrics.
We’re celebrating a century of Science News|Maria Temming|March 24, 2022|Science News
Thanks to the Silk Road, the contribution of silkworms to the history of global trade is more widely appreciated.
Why We Should Eat Crickets. And Other Bug Ideas - Facts So Romantic|Mary Ellen Hannibal|October 2, 2020|Nautilus
Silkworms have been doing their thing for more than 300 million years.
Why We Should Eat Crickets. And Other Bug Ideas - Facts So Romantic|Mary Ellen Hannibal|October 2, 2020|Nautilus

In The Silkworm, Rowling deploys this knack with an almost perfect touch.
Speed Read: J.K. Rowling Pens Another Winner With ‘The Silkworm’|Malcolm Jones|June 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Silkworm brings back Cormoran Strike (yes, Potterish names still abound).
Speed Read: J.K. Rowling Pens Another Winner With ‘The Silkworm’|Malcolm Jones|June 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The caterpillar produces silk, though it is not equal to that of the better known silkworm.
In the Wilds of Florida|W.H.G. Kingston
The Mussel which makes such long anchor-threads might be called "the silkworm of the sea."
On the Seashore|R. Cadwallader Smith
The Silkworm is about eight weeks in arriving at maturity, during which period it changes its skin four or five times.
Birds and all Nature, Vol. IV, No. 6, December 1898|Various
At a certain period of its existence the silkworm gives off a secretion of jelly-like substance.
Textiles|William H. Dooley
Malpighi has observed that a silkworm often eats in a day mulberry leaves equal to its own weight.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for silkworm

silkworm

/ (ˈsɪlkˌwɜːm) /

noun

the larva of the Chinese moth Bombyx mori, that feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree: widely cultivated as a source of silk

any of various similar or related larvae

silkworm moth the moth of any of these larvae

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