Shipworm

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Shipworm \Ship"worm`\, n. (Zool.)
     Any long, slender, worm-shaped bivalve mollusk of {Teredo}
     and allied genera. The shipworms burrow in wood, and are
     destructive to wooden ships, piles of wharves, etc. See
     {Teredo}.
     [1913 Webster]



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Teredo \Te*re"do\, n.; pl. E. {Teredos}, L. {Teredines}. [L., a
     worm that gnaws wood, clothes, etc.; akin to Gr. ?, L. terere
     to rub.] (Zool.)
     A genus of long, slender, wormlike bivalve mollusks which
     bore into submerged wood, such as the piles of wharves,
     bottoms of ships, etc.; -- called also {shipworm}. See
     {Shipworm}. See Illust. in Appendix.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  shipworm
       n : wormlike marine bivalve that bores into wooden piers and
           ships by means of drill-like shells [syn: {teredinid}]