Word.ws English Dictionary

worm turns

worm turns phrase: circumstances change so that a previously disadvantaged party gains the advantage, or vice-versa.

Phrase

the worm turns

  1. (idiomatic, usually preceded by the) Circumstances change so that a previously disadvantaged party gains the advantage, or vice-versa.
    • "The poor old Worm turns as if she was treading on him instead of cuddling him like a pussy cat."1875, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 12, in Eight Cousins
    • "I've waited on you hand and foot, done dirty work for you, put up with your ill-humours and your tyranny, and never grumbled. But there is a limit! You've made a poor sort of creature of me, but even the worm turns, you know."1914, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 22, in The Vanished Messenger

Questions about worm turns

What does worm turns mean?
Worm turns means circumstances change so that a previously disadvantaged party gains the advantage, or vice-versa.
What part of speech is worm turns?
Worm turns is a phrase.

Words near worm turns in the dictionary

  1. worm shells
  2. worm snake
  3. worm snakes
  4. worm tea
  5. worm teas
  6. worm turns
  7. worm wheel
  8. worm wheels
  9. worm's eye view
  10. worm's eye views
  11. worm's food

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: worm turns (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: En-au-worm turns.ogg.

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