silkworm
Americannoun
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the larva of the Chinese silkworm moth, Bombyx mori, which spins a cocoon of commercially valuable silk.
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the larva of any of several moths of the family Saturniidae, which spins a silken cocoon.
noun
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the larva of the Chinese moth Bombyx mori, that feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree: widely cultivated as a source of silk
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any of various similar or related larvae
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the moth of any of these larvae
Etymology
Origin of silkworm
before 1000; Middle English sylkewyrme, Old English seolcwyrm. See silk, worm
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"A silkworm grows nearly a thousand times in just 25 days. But its success depends completely on temperature, humidity and good-quality leaves," Tomala says.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Legend says the island used to be famous for sericulture and farmers would keep cats because they would chase away rats, protecting the silkworm cocoons from the rodents.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
In response, the researchers developed a bilayer adhesive hemostat utilizing mussel adhesive proteins that exhibit strong tissue adhesion underwater and silk fibroin extracted from silkworm cocoons.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2024
Jones notes it could be challenging to protect intellectual property rights when commercializing the spider silk because it would likely entail distributing transgenic silkworm eggs to many farmers.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 19, 2023
Before an audience of intellectuals, Swammerdam cut away the skin of the silkworm to reveal what appeared to be a tiny model of the future moth inside, from proboscis to antennae to folded wings.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
