tapeworm

American  

[teyp-wurm] / ˈteɪpˌwɜrm /

noun

• tapeworms
  plural

1. any of various flat or tapelike worms of the class Cestoidea, lacking an alimentary canal, and parasitic when adult in the alimentary canal of humans and other vertebrates: the larval and adult stages are usually in different hosts.

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tapeworm British  

/ ˈteɪpˌwɜːm /

noun

1. any parasitic ribbon-like flatworm of the class Cestoda, having a body divided into many egg-producing segments and lacking a mouth and gut. The adults inhabit the intestines of vertebrates See also echinococcus taenia

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tapeworm Scientific  

/ tāp′wûrm′ /

1. See cestode

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tapeworm Cultural  

1. A worm with a long, flat body that can live in the human intestines as a parasite. Infestation with a tapeworm usually occurs as the result of eating raw meat or fish that contains the immature form of the worm.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tapeworms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tapeworm

First recorded in 1745–55; tape + worm

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tapeworm tapeworms

A farmer living with slow-growing cysts caused by a tapeworm says he had no idea anything was wrong - until the worst pain of his life.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

It was not until three years later, in 2010, that Lowri discovered the tapeworm when in a restaurant toilet and flushed it down the loo.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

People can become infected by swallowing tapeworm eggs, such as through food contaminated with coyote or dog feces.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

Can you explain how and why you came up with the eyelash sequence, which you shot in excruciating close-up, and the truly disgusting tapeworm?

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025

In pain, half starved, with a tapeworm and an eye infection, he collapsed on the road to town and was taken to the infirmary by a kindly widow.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

In contrast, large urban centers like London and York show a wider range of parasites, including fish and meat tapeworms.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025

Mosley has often pushed his body to extreme lengths to see the effects of his diets and also lived with tapeworms in his guts for six weeks for the BBC documentary “Infested! Living With Parasites.”

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2024

If the cysts find a home in the small intestine, they can develop into adult tapeworms in about two months’ time.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024

There may be some truth to this: Humans evolved for millions of years alongside our parasites, everything from tapeworms to pubic lice.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2023

He covered everything from toothpaste to tapeworms and somehow made it all fit together.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli