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.

---

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

---

tapeworm Scientific  

/ tāp′wûrm′ /

1. See cestode

---

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.

---

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

She is one of only a handful of people in the UK who are diagnosed with the brain infection each year, which is caused by the larvae of the pork tapeworm.

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

While these animals often show no signs of illness, the tapeworm can cause severe disease in domestic dogs and humans if transmission occurs.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

The tapeworm diet was, of course, gross, but it would have felt a bit unrealized if she just took it and became skinny.

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

Coyotes and other canids serve as the primary hosts for adult tapeworms.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

A Norwegian body horror film shot in Norway, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, "The Ugly Stepsister" is uterly void of cartoon whimsy and helpful, singing mice, but it does have plenty of tapeworms and maggots.

From Salon ● Apr. 7, 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

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

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli