tapeworm

noun

tape·​worm ˈtāp-ˌwərm 

: any of a class (Cestoda) of bilaterally symmetrical flatworms that are parasitic as adults in the intestines of vertebrates including humans and consist of a scolex usually with suckers or hooks followed posteriorly by an undifferentiated neck region from which buds off an often long chain of proglottids

In most instances, adult tapeworms have little visible effect on their hosts except in heavy infections, which may result in anemia, weight loss, and various secondary manifestations.

—Burton J. Bogitsh et al.

called also cestode

Examples of tapeworm in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One practice particularly haunted her: swallowing tapeworm eggs in a bid to lose weight. —Alex Barasch, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024

What’s a tapeworm if not a reminder that our bodies are ecosystems, too? —Blair Braverman, Outside Online, 2 Dec. 2024

Ferrara bought a metric ton of tapeworm props, hired a scene-stealing Meg Tilly and showed us that, even in docile peacetime, demands of obedience and conformity can be seamlessly co-opted by evil forces, leaving us with zero options of how to live outside their control. —Rory Doherty, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024

The most common of these is Taenia solium, aka the pork tapeworm. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from its shape

First Known Use

1706, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

tapeworm

noun

tape·​worm ˈtāp-ˌwərm 

: any of a group of flatworms that are parasites of the intestines of vertebrate animals including human beings

Medical Definition

tapeworm

noun

tape·​worm ˈtāp-ˌwərm 

: any of the class Cestoda of flatworms that are parasitic as adults in the digestive 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