worm

worm — 名詞

1. a soft-bodied creature that has a long narrow shape, no legs or bones, and lives

1.名詞B2
釋義

蠕蟲

身體細長柔軟、無四肢的動物

a soft-bodied creature that has a long narrow shape, no legs or bones, and lives mostly in soil.

例句

After the heavy rain, several pink worms crawled across the pavement in our street.

大雨過後，我們街道的人行道上爬滿了粉紅色的蠕蟲。

collocation: crawl / wriggle + worm

Walid found a fat worm in the soil while planting tomato seedlings in the garden.

Walid 在花園裡種番茄幼苗時，在土中發現了一條肥大的蠕蟲。

countable: a worm / the worm / worms

同義詞
  • earthworm

    specifically refers to worms that live in soil, not general term for all worm-like animals

  • maggot

    refers specifically to fly larvae rather than adult worms; negative connotation

用法筆記

Countable noun. Often used with verbs like wriggle, crawl, or squirm to describe the movement of the animal.

2. the early, worm-shaped stage of certain insects before they become adults, such

2.名詞B2
釋義

幼蟲

某些昆蟲發育初期的蟲狀幼體

the early, worm-shaped stage of certain insects before they become adults, such as a caterpillar that will later turn into a butterfly or moth.

例句

The gardener spotted small green worms eating holes through the cabbage leaves.

園丁在高麗菜葉上發現了正在啃蝕葉片的小綠蟲。

domain: gardening — insect larvae on plants

Minh cut open an apple and found a tiny white worm curled inside the core.

Minh 切開一顆蘋果，發現果核裡蜷縮著一條白色的幼蟲。

同義詞
  • caterpillar

    specifically the larva of butterflies and moths; more precise than worm

  • grub

    the thick, soft larva of beetles; often found in soil or wood

  • maggot

    the legless larva of flies; usually found in decaying matter

用法筆記

In everyday English, this sense overlaps with words like caterpillar, grub, and maggot, which are more specific. 'Worm' here is a general, non-scientific term.

常見錯誤

❌The worm turned into a fly immediately.
✅The maggot turned into a fly after several days in the pupa.
💡For fly larvae, use maggot; worm is too general for scientific accuracy.

3. a type of parasitic worm that lives inside the body of a person or an animal, fe

3.名詞B2
釋義

寄生蟲

寄生在人或動物體內的蟲

a type of parasitic worm that lives inside the body of a person or an animal, feeding on the host's food or blood and often causing illness.

例句

The vet examined a sample of the dog's stool for signs of intestinal worms.

獸醫檢查了狗的糞便樣本，尋找腸道寄生蟲的跡象。

domain: veterinary — stool test for worms

Tara gave her cat a special paste because the animal had picked up worms from eating raw meat.

Tara 幫貓咪塗了一種藥膏，因為那隻貓吃了生肉而感染了寄生蟲。

同義詞
  • parasite

    broader term — includes worms, fleas, ticks, and other organisms that live off a host

  • tapeworm

    a specific long, flat parasitic worm found in the intestines

  • roundworm

    a type of parasitic worm with a round body, common in pets and humans

用法筆記

Often used in plural (worms) when referring to an infestation in an animal or person. Common verb partners: have (worms), get (worms), treat (worms), and remove (worms).

4. an insulting word for a person, especially one who behaves in a dishonest, weak,

4.名詞C1
釋義

卑鄙小人

不值得尊敬的無恥之人

an insulting word for a person, especially one who behaves in a dishonest, weak, or unpleasant way that makes other people lose respect for them.

例句

Walid called his former business partner a worm after discovering the stolen funds.

Walid 發現合夥人盜用資金後，罵他是個卑鄙小人。

figurative use: call someone a worm

Only a complete worm would spread lies about a colleague just to get a promotion.

只有卑鄙小人才會為了升遷而散播關於同事的謊言。

register: informal, insulting

同義詞
  • rat

    commoner insult for a traitor or informer; stronger and more frequent today

  • snake

    suggests someone sly or treacherous, especially in workplace or social betrayal

  • lowlife

    a person of low moral character; broader and less specific than worm

用法筆記

Strongly insulting and informal. Used as a singular countable noun, often in 'call someone a worm' or 'a worm' by itself. Less common in modern usage than stronger insults like 'rat' or 'snake'.

5. a piece of malicious software that creates copies of itself and spreads between

5.名詞B2
釋義

電腦蠕蟲

能自我複製的惡意程式

a piece of malicious software that creates copies of itself and spreads between linked computers across a network, often damaging or destroying data.

例句

A worm spread through the office email system and brought the entire network down.

一隻電腦蠕蟲透過辦公室的電子郵件系統擴散，導致整個網路癱瘓。

domain: cyber security — network worm

Xiu installed antivirus software on her laptop to protect it from worms and other malware.

Xiu 在筆記型電腦上安裝了防毒軟體，以保護電腦免受蠕蟲和其他惡意軟體的侵害。

同義詞
  • virus

    broader category of malware; viruses require host files, worms do not

  • malware

    umbrella term for any malicious software including worms, viruses, trojans

  • trojan

    a program that appears harmless but contains malicious code; different from worm in that it does not self-replicate

用法筆記

Distinguished from a 'virus' — a worm spreads across networks independently without attaching to a program or file, whereas a virus requires a host file to move.

常見錯誤

❌The computer got a virus that spread by itself through email.
✅The computer got a worm that spread by itself through email.
💡A worm spreads without a host file; a virus needs to attach to a program.

worm — 動詞