tapeworm

American  

[teyp-wurm] / ˈteɪpˌwɜrm /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of tapeworm

First recorded in 1745–55; tape + worm

Example Sentences

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

From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026

According to medical experts, the condition Kennedy described sounds like neurocysticercosis, a disease that occurs when pork tapeworm larvae become enclosed in a cyst in the human brain.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2024

Cysticercosis is a type of infection caused by the eggs or larvae of the parasite Taenia solium, also known as pork tapeworm, which can lead to cysts developing in the brain.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2024

The primary difference, arguably, is that, unlike a tapeworm, humans are conscious and intelligent enough that we can learn to coexist with the life around us.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2023

Merle Haggard's My House of Memories, the diaries of Alan Bennett, Treasure Island: If a person who constantly reads is labeled a bookworm, then I was quickly becoming what might be called a tapeworm.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris