worm-eaten

American

[wurm-eet-n] / ˈwɜrmˌit n /

adjective

eaten into or gnawed by worms.
impaired by time, decayed or antiquated.

worm-eaten British

adjective

eaten into by worms

a worm-eaten table
decayed; rotten
old-fashioned; antiquated

"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

Other Word Forms

unworm-eaten

adjective

Etymology

Origin of worm-eaten

1350–1400; Middle English wormeten; see worm, eat, -en ³

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.

To preserve Ships from being Worm eaten, 11.

From Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society - Vol 1 - 1666 Giving some Accompt of the present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in many considerable parts of the World by Oldenburg, Henry

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