woodworm

American  

[wood-wurm] / ˈwʊdˌwɜrm /

noun

1. a worm or larva that breeds in or bores into wood.

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woodworm British  

/ ˈwʊdˌwɜːm /

noun

1. any of various insect larvae that bore into wooden furniture, beams, etc, esp the larvae of the furniture beetle, Anobium punctatum, and the deathwatch beetle

2. the condition caused in wood by any of these larvae

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Etymology

Origin of woodworm

First recorded in 1530–40; wood ¹ + worm

Example Sentences

Old manuscripts are usually infested with woodworms, silverfish or “other microscopic creatures with a love of paper.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Similarly, some items in his collection became contaminated with mildew, woodworm or worse — asbestos, mercury and radioactivity.

From New York Times

She checks paintings and wooden frames for warping, flaking paint and the first signs of woodworms.

From New York Times

He accused opponents within the party of engaging in "student politics" and orchestrating a move which had "all the political calculations of a woodworm found dead in a brick".

From BBC

Presumably he is a woodworm, not an earthworm, and Locke’s furniture was crawling with them.

From Literature