teredo

American  

[tuh-ree-doh] / təˈri doʊ /

noun

plural

teredos, teredines

1. a shipworm of the genus Teredo.

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teredo British  

/ tɛˈriːdəʊ /

noun

1. any marine bivalve mollusc of the genus Teredo See shipworm

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Etymology

Origin of teredo

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin terēdō < Greek terēdṓn wood-boring worm

Example Sentences

Matters reached crisis-point in the early 1980s, when it was discovered that the enormous wooden piles which hold up the entire structure were infested with teredo shipworm.

From BBC • Sep. 11, 2021

"We are seldom engaged on such a trifling affair as this," replied the teredo; "we eat through ships and piers, and piles made of the hard trunks of oaks."

From The Ravens and the Angels With Other Stories and Parables by Charles, Elizabeth Rundle

They were pierced in all parts by the teredo or worm which abounds in the tropical seas.

From The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Volume II) by Irving, Washington

Besides these esthetic conditions, wooden piles were rejected because the teredo, in this part of the Sound, is very active.

From Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXX, Dec. 1910 Reinforced Concrete Pier Construction by Klapp, Eugene

The Child thrust in his little hand and felt all through the tube, but there was nothing more within, and he was so disappointed he had scarcely heart to thank the teredo.

From The Ravens and the Angels With Other Stories and Parables by Charles, Elizabeth Rundle