Word.ws English Dictionary

shipworm

Syllables: ship·worm/ˈʃɪpwɜːm/US/ˈʃɪpwɝm/

shipworm noun: any of several wormlike marine molluscs (not true worms) of the family Teredinidae that bore through the wooden hulls of ships and other woody material immersed in salt water; specifically, the naval shipworm or turu (Teredo navalis), the type species of the genus Teredo.

Noun

shipworm (plural shipworms)

  1. Any of several wormlike marine molluscs (not true worms) of the family Teredinidae that bore through the wooden hulls of ships and other woody material immersed in salt water; specifically, the naval shipworm or turu (Teredo navalis), the type species of the genus Teredo.
    • Ship-VVorms [running head] […] It is reported that thoſe VVorms vvhich get into a Ships bottom in the ſalt vvater, vvill dye in the freſh vvater; and that the freſh vvater VVorms vvill dye in ſalt vvater: but in brackiſh vvater both ſorts vvill increaſe prodigiouſly.1697, William Dampier, chapter XIII, in A New Voyage Round the World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, page 363
    • The Ship-VVorm of Jamaica. This inſect is extremely deſtructive to all the ſhips that anchor for any time in the harbours of Jamaica, or in any other part vvithin the tropics: They cut vvith great facility through the planks, and burrovv a conſiderable vvay in the ſubſtance of them, incruſtating...1756, Patrick Browne, “Of Insects”, in The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica. […], London: […] T[homas] Osborne, and J. Shipton, […], →OCLC, part II, book III, class I, section II, order IV, page...

shipworm meaning in Hindi, Urdu and Thai

shipworm in Hindi

any of several wormlike marine molluscs of the family Teredinidae
बत bat

shipworm in Urdu

any of several wormlike marine molluscs of the family Teredinidae
بَت bat

shipworm in Thai

any of several wormlike marine molluscs of the family Teredinidae
เพรียง priiang

Examples of shipworm in a sentence

  • [W]e have suffered seriously in our dock yards and harbors by the operations of the shipworm, to which the soundest and hardest oak offers no impediment.1852 January 1, “Art. II.—Shell Fish: Their Ways and Works. An Introduction to Conchology, or Elements of the Natural History of Molluscous...
  • Old spars and water-soaked timbers cast on the beach are full of the workings of the shipworm—long cylindrical tunnels penetrating all parts of the wood.1955, Rachel Carson, “The Rim of Sand”, in The Edge of the Sea, New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →OCLC, page 185:
  • Once inside edible wood, the shipworm begins eating and growing, and some species, such as those in the Caribbean, can attain a length of over 3 feet.2004, Donald Launer, “The Lower Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Raritan Bay, and Their Tributaries”, in A Cruising Guide to New Jersey Waters, revised...
  • In 1980, divers discovered that Teredo navalis, a shipworm, had infested the timber support.2020 August 12, Andrew Mourant, “The Tide is Turning for a Victorian Wonder”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN...

Synonyms of shipworm

Forms of shipworm

pluralshipworms

Origin of shipworm

From ship + worm.

Questions about shipworm

What does shipworm mean?
Shipworm means any of several wormlike marine molluscs (not true worms) of the family Teredinidae that bore through the wooden hulls of ships and other woody material immersed in salt water; specifically, the naval shipworm or turu (Teredo navalis), the type species of the genus Teredo.
What is shipworm in Hindi?
Shipworm in Hindi is बत (bat). See Shipworm meaning in Hindi.
How do you use shipworm in a sentence?
[W]e have suffered seriously in our dock yards and harbors by the operations of the shipworm, to which the soundest and hardest oak offers no impediment.
What part of speech is shipworm?
Shipworm is a noun.
How do you pronounce shipworm?
Shipworm is pronounced /ˈʃɪpwɜːm/ (UK).
What is the plural of shipworm?
The plural of shipworm is shipworms.

Words near shipworm in the dictionary

  1. shipwide
  2. shipwork
  3. shipworker
  4. shipworkers
  5. shipworks
  6. shipworm
  7. shipworms
  8. shipwrack
  9. shipwracke
  10. shipwrackes
  11. shipwracks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shipworm (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-shipworm.wav.

Cite this entry: “shipworm.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shipworm. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.