Meanings
plural mealworms
- usuallyThe larval stage of the mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor), a species of darkling beetle.
We buy mealworms to supplement our chickens' feed ration, and they do some scratching in the yard to find other bugs too.
- broadlyinformalsometimesThis or any other larva that looks similar and is found in similar circumstances (i.e., in meal, in flour, in food, in the pantry, in feed, in the feedroom), such as the larva of a mealmoth (flour moth).
Near-synonym: waxworm
1 more example
They'd seen a few mealmoths and mealworms in recent days, and then they figured out that the cornflakes in the pantry were the source of the problem.
Synonyms: waxworm
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThis or any other larva that looks similar and is found in similar circumstances (i.e., in meal, in flour, in food, in the pantry, in feed, in the feedroom), such as the larva of a mealmoth (flour moth).
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian брашнян червей
- брашнян червей (brašnjan červej)larva of the Tenebrio molitor
Catalan cuc de la farina
- cuc de la farinalarva of the Tenebrio molitor
Chinese Mandarin 黃粉蟲 /黄粉虫
- 黃粉蟲 /黄粉虫 (huángfěnchóng)larva of the Tenebrio molitor
Finnish jauhomato
- jauhomatolarva of the Tenebrio molitor
French ver de farine
- ver de farinelarva of the Tenebrio molitor
Polish mącznik
- mączniklarva of the Tenebrio molitor
Portuguese larva-da-farinha, tenébrio
- larva-da-farinhalarva of the Tenebrio molitor
- tenébriolarva of the Tenebrio molitor
Russian мучно́й червь
- мучно́й червь (mučnój červʹ)larva of the Tenebrio molitor
Spanish gusano de la harina
- gusano de la harinalarva of the Tenebrio molitor
Turkish un kurdu
- un kurdularva of the Tenebrio molitor
Cite this entry
mealworm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealworm
“mealworm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealworm. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mealworm,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mealworm.
Source: mealworm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.