worming

verb

present participle of worm
1
as in encroaching
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits neighborhoods worming into lands reserved for wildlife

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in sneaking
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way over a period of several years, the undercover agent was able to worm his way into the drug kingpin's confidence

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the cat silently wormed along the ground as it snuck up on the bird

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of worming After a series of personal setbacks, Ingrid moves to Los Angeles to be closer to Taylor, masterminding their meeting and worming her way into her inner circle. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026 The best success comes using it in jungle-thick cover, worming a minnow down between uncooperative branches. — John Phillips, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026 In terms of the complex set design — which looks like a facsimile of the same passage over and over but with subtle differences worming their way in — Kawamura and his team built two identical corridors for cinematographer Keisuke Imamura to follow the actors through, third- and first-person-style. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 Apr. 2026 Clara ends up moving to the small town and worming her way into everyone’s hearts. — Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025 Traitors is worming its way in there. — Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worming
  1. encroaching
  2. sneaking
  3. creeping
  4. infiltrating
  5. crawling
  6. inserting
  7. snaking
  8. slipping
Verb
  • Against encroaching social upheavals, the sovereign was resolutely the center of a mercantilist universe.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The law is designed to give state and local authorities permission to bring down drones encroaching on airports and major venues.
    — Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of encroaching
Verb
  • Imagine sneaking into a math library and combing through every mathematical text ever written.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The Chiefs placed Royals at tight end on the line, sneaking him across the back of the end zone on a drag route.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of sneaking
Verb
  • Carr takes a beat to scan the field, no doubt noticing three corners in press and an extra safety creeping toward the line.
    — Nick Baumgardner, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But there was something else that was creeping into his head.
    — Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of creeping
Verb
  • The group is known for infiltrating companies by exploiting software vulnerabilities or server misconfigurations to breach IT networks and then spreading ransomware to encrypt computers.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The company discovered in July that rogue AI agents had schemed in secret to break out of the virtual sandbox created to contain them, infiltrating the open internet and hacking a private company.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of infiltrating
Verb
  • Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Traffic cameras showed that northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper and crawling along I-35 before being detoured from the highway.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of crawling
Verb
  • The most finicky part of the setup was actually inserting the battery for the igniter.
    — Noah Kaufman, Architectural Digest, 2 Oct. 2026
  • For Murray Hooper, medical officials again struggled to find his vein and ended up inserting a catheter near his groin, according to the Arizona Republic.
    — Victoria Arancio, ABC News, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of inserting
Verb
  • Fighting along the roughly 780-mile front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked in recent months.
    — Susie Blann, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked in recent months.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of snaking
Verb
  • Look a little closer, however, and its chart dominance has been slipping for years.
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Golden State trailed by 16 points with 16 minutes remaining, their historic season slipping through their fingers.
    — Marcus Thompson II, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of slipping

Browse Nearby Words

wormholes
worming
worms
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Cite this Entry

“Worming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worming. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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