tapeworm

noun tape·worm \ˈtāp-ˌwərm\

: a long, flat worm that lives in the intestines of people and animals

Full Definition of TAPEWORM

: any of a class (Cestoda) of bilaterally symmetrical flatworms parasitic especially in the intestines of vertebrates —called also cestode

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Origin of TAPEWORM

from its shape

First Known Use: 1706

Rhymes with TAPEWORM

affirm, bagworm, bloodworm, bookworm, budworm, confirm, cutworm, deworm, dew worm, earthworm, eelworm, flatworm, glowworm, heartworm, hookworm, hornworm, inchworm, infirm, long-term, lugworm, lungworm, midterm, pinworm, ringworm, roundworm, sandworm, screwworm, short-term, silkworm, webworm, woodworm

TAPEWORM Defined for Kids

tapeworm

noun tape·worm \ˈtāp-ˌwərm\

Definition of TAPEWORM for Kids

: a worm with a long flat body that lives as a parasite in the intestines of people and animals

Medical Dictionary

tapeworm

noun tape·worm \ˈtāp-ˌwərm\

Medical Definition of TAPEWORM

: any of the class Cestoda of flatworms that are parasitic as adults in the alimentary tract of vertebrates including humans and as larvae in a great variety of vertebrates and invertebrates, that typically consist of an attachment organ usually with suckers, grooves, hooks, or other devices for adhering to the host's intestine followed by an undifferentiated growth region from which buds off a chain of segments of which the anterior members are little more than blocks of tissue, the median members have fully developed organs of both sexes, and the posterior members are degenerated to egg-filled sacs, that have no digestive system and absorb food through the body wall, and that have a nervous system consisting of ganglia and commissures in the scolex and longitudinal cords extending the length of the strobila—called also cestode; see beef tapeworm, cat tapeworm, dog tapeworm, fish tapeworm, fringed tapeworm, pork tapeworm