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wormhole

American  
[wurm-hohl] / ˈwɜrmˌhoʊl /

noun

wormholes plural
  1. a hole made by a burrowing or gnawing worm, as in timber, nuts, etc.

  2. a theoretical passageway in space between a black hole and a white hole.


wormhole British  
/ ˈwɜːmˌhəʊl /

noun

  1. a hole made by a worm in timber, plants, etc

  2. physics a tunnel in the geometry of space–time postulated to connect different parts of the universe

"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

wormhole Scientific  
/ wûrmhōl′ /
  1. A hole made by a burrowing worm.

  2. A theoretical distortion of space-time that would link points in space through a second set of paths, some of which could be shorter than the shortest path without the wormhole. It is not known whether workholes are possible.

  3. See more at space-time


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of wormhole

First recorded in 1585–95; worm + hole

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.

See Examples For:

In her waking hours, Elle is the movie star of a “Barbarella”–like space adventure about an all-female crew who zips through a wormhole and crash lands on a crystalline planet.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2026

Nevertheless, the wormhole metaphor flourished in popular culture and speculative theoretical physics.

From Science Daily May 22, 2026

And I fell into a deep Instagram wormhole after I was exposed, via my Explore page, to some truly mesmerizing Anne Geddes–knockoff A.I. baby fashion shows.

From Slate Dec. 28, 2024

From cats and cucumbers to pimple popping and unboxings, the internet is awash with a vast array of videos to send people into a social media wormhole.

From BBC Aug. 10, 2024

A twig stuck into a wormhole made the mast and another twig through a leaf served for a sail.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli

This reinterpretation of Einstein–Rosen bridges offers no shortcuts across galaxies, no time travel and no science-fiction wormholes or hyperspace.

From Science Daily May 22, 2026

Furthermore, these angels can be ensorcelled into opening wormholes that transport humans through time.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 5, 2026

Ross: Other dimensions, everyone was fine with the wormholes.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 25, 2025

The writer went down similar online wormholes himself on sites like 4Chan and Reddit in order to see the world through Jamie's eyes.

From BBC Mar. 21, 2025

We can imagine these wormholes as tubes running through a fourth physical dimension.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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