Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

screwworm

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.25 in modern English

Syllables
screw-worm
IPA
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A larva of a blowfly of species Cochliomyia hominivorax (New World screwworm fly) or Chrysomya bezziana (Old World screwworm fly), of tribe Chrysomyini, parasitic in animals and sometimes humans, distinctive in eating living flesh of mammals, unlike most maggots, which eat only dead flesh.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From screw + worm.

Inflected Forms

screwworms (plural)

Phrases

New World screwworm Old World screwworm

Frequently Paired Words

flystrike myiasis

Questions

What does screwworm mean?
A larva of a blowfly of species Cochliomyia hominivorax (New World screwworm fly) or Chrysomya bezziana (Old World screwworm fly), of tribe Chrysomyini, parasitic in animals and sometimes humans, distinctive in eating living flesh of mammals, unlike most maggots, which eat only dead flesh.
Where does screwworm come from?
From screw + worm.

How to pronounce screwworm

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “screwworm”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “screwworm”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “screwworm” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.