tapeworm

American  

[tayp-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

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Etymology

Origin of tapeworm

First recorded in 1745–55; tape + worm

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tapeworm tapeworms

They used the rat tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta, a non-pathogenic species commonly used to study interactions among parasites, gut microorganisms, and the immune system because of its known anti-inflammatory properties.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

But then Lowri's mother asked if her seizure could be linked to the tapeworm she had discovered a year earlier.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 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

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

If the tapeworm attaches to the right place in the gut, it can leech vitamin B12 from the victim, instigating a lethal form of anemia.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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

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

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