wireworm

[ wahyuhr-wurm ]

noun
  1. any of the slender, hard-bodied larvae of click beetles, many of which live underground and feed on the roots of plants.

  2. any of various small myriapods.

Origin of wireworm

1
First recorded in 1780–90; wire + worm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wireworm in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wireworm

wireworm

/ (ˈwaɪəˌwɜːm) /


noun
  1. the wormlike larva of various elaterid beetles, which feeds on the roots of many crop plants and is a serious agricultural pest

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