Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounsmall hairless caterpillar having legs on only its front and rear segments; mostly larvae of moths of the family Geometridae
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
So called because their gradual movement seems to be measuring the ground; compare inchworm.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian педомерка
- педомерка (pedomerka)larva
Chinese Mandarin 尺蠖
- 尺蠖 (chǐhuò)larva
Finnish mittarimato
- mittarimatolarva
Japanese 尺蠖, 尺取り虫
- 尺蠖 (shakkaku)larva
- 尺取り虫 (shakutorimushi)larva
Korean 자벌레
- 자벌레 (jabeolle)larva
Māori whangawhanga, tāwhanawhana
- whangawhangalarva
- tāwhanawhanalarva
- tāwhanalarva
Polish miernikowiec
- miernikowieclarva
Portuguese medideira, lagarta mede-palmos
- medideiralarva
- lagarta mede-palmoslarva
- marca-passolarva
- bicho agrimensorlarva
Russian гу́сеница
- гу́сеница (gúsenica)larva
Ukrainian п'яду́н
- п'яду́н (pʺjadún)larva
Vietnamese sâu đo
- sâu đolarva
Cite this entry
APA
measuring worm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/measuring%20worm
MLA
“measuring worm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/measuring%20worm. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “measuring worm,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/measuring%20worm.
Source: measuring worm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.