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wormhole

[wurm-hohl]
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noun
  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.
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Origin of wormhole

First recorded in 1585–95; worm + hole
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for wormhole

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I really believe he gets more pleasure out of one first-class, sixteenth-century wormhole than the original worm did.

  • "I think maybe that speck isn't a wormhole, after all," said Phil, subjecting the apple she still held to another scrutiny.

    Otherwise Phyllis

    Meredith Nicholson

  • How about that wormhole, James, that we were worrying over before the separation of the upper table?

British Dictionary definitions for wormhole

wormhole

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
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Derived Formswormholed, adjective
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

Word Origin and History for wormhole

n.

1590s, "hole made by a burrowing insect" (in fruit, etc.), from worm (n.) + hole (n.). Astrophysics sense is attested from 1957.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
wormhole in Science

wormhole

[wûrm′hōl′]
  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. See more at space-time.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.