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inchworm

inch·worm

UK/ˈɪnt͡ʃ.wɜːm/ US/ˈɪnt͡ʃ.wɚm/ uncommon informal

noun

1.

small hairless caterpillar having legs on only its front and rear segments; mostly larvae of moths of the family Geometridae

Origin

From inch + worm. So called because their gradual movement seems to be measuring the ground; compare measuring worm.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.