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

The warm waters of the Caribbean are paradise for teredo worms, which are actually mollusks with a voracious appetite for wood.

From National Geographic

A long trestle at the foot of Pike Street, Seattle, at which the ship “Belle Isle,” among others, often loaded, fell in, demolished by the work of the teredo.

From Project Gutenberg

"I am a teredo," replied the little muffled voice.

From Project Gutenberg

The park, with a heavily used soccer pitch and riverfront walk, sits on century-old timbers that were riddled with shipworms, or teredos, tiny mollusks that bore into wood.

From New York Times