whipworm

American

[hwip-wurm, wip-] / ˈʰwɪpˌwɜrm, ˈwɪp- /

noun

any of several parasitic nematodes of the genus Trichuris, having a long, slender, whiplike anterior end.

whipworm British

/ ˈwɪpˌwɜːm /

noun

any of several parasitic nematode worms of the genus Trichuris, esp T. trichiura, having a whiplike body and living in the intestines of mammals

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of whipworm

First recorded in 1870–75; whip + worm

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

About 28% of the samples contained eggs from either roundworm or whipworm.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2025

Cambridge University researcher Tianyi Wang said roundworm was the most common infection, but whipworm infection was also found.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2022

Petrified roundworm and whipworm eggs suggest that Roman-era and late medieval Brits were most likely to be plagued with these pests.

From Scientific American • Jul. 9, 2022

They identified human whipworm in a young man who had been sick for six years.

From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2019

Contrary to his expectations, the prevalence of intestinal parasites such as roundworm and whipworm — which cause dysentery — did not decrease from the Bronze and Iron ages to the Roman period; they gradually rose.

From Nature • May 23, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023