acorn worm

noun

: any of a class (Enteropneusta) of burrowing wormlike marine animals having an acorn-shaped proboscis and classified with the hemichordates

Examples of acorn worm in a Sentence

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The census turned up more than 6,000 new species candidates, including the pair depicted here: an acorn worm from the deeps of the North Atlantic, and a polychaete worm (right) found on a whale carcass near Japan. Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2010 An enteropneust, or acorn worm, in the process of leaving behind its characteristic fecal coil on the bottom of the ocean in the Sirena Canyon. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 18 May 2016 This is an acorn worm, a scavenger of seafloor sediment that the researchers found in the North Atlantic. Discover Magazine, 7 July 2010 This larva belongs to tornaria, a kind of acorn worm that likes to live in plankton. Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 20 Apr. 2010

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of acorn worm was circa 1889

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Cite this Entry

“Acorn worm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acorn%20worm. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

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