Library / English Dictionary

ROUNDWORM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Unsegmented worms with elongated rounded body pointed at both ends; mostly free-living but some are parasitic

Synonyms:

nematode; nematode worm; roundworm

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("roundworm" is a kind of...):

worm (any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "roundworm"):

Dracunculus medinensis; Guinea worm (parasitic roundworm of India and Africa that lives in the abdomen or beneath the skin of humans and other vertebrates)

Ascaris lumbricoides; common roundworm (intestinal parasite of humans and pigs)

Ascaridia galli; chicken roundworm (intestinal parasite of domestic fowl)

Enterobius vermicularis; pinworm; threadworm (small threadlike worm infesting human intestines and rectum especially in children)

eelworm (any of various small free-living plant-parasitic roundworms)

Tylenchus tritici; wheat eel; wheat eelworm; wheatworm (small roundworm parasitic on wheat)

trichina; Trichinella spiralis (parasitic nematode occurring in the intestines of pigs and rats and human beings and producing larvae that form cysts in skeletal muscles)

hookworm (parasitic bloodsucking roundworms having hooked mouth parts to fasten to the intestinal wall of human and other hosts)

filaria (slender threadlike roundworms living in the blood and tissues of vertebrates; transmitted as larvae by biting insects)

Holonyms ("roundworm" is a member of...):

Aschelminthes; Nematoda; phylum Aschelminthes; phylum Nematoda (unsegmented worms: roundworms; threadworms; eelworms)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Infections of the skin or nails caused by fungi and appearing as itching circular patches

Synonyms:

ringworm; roundworm; tinea

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("roundworm" is a kind of...):

fungal infection; mycosis (an inflammatory condition caused by a fungus)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "roundworm"):

dhobi itch (fungal infection attacking moist parts of the body)

kerion (ringworm infection of the hair follicles of the scalp and beard that usually results in a swelling that is covered with pustules and oozes fluid)

athlete's foot; tinea pedis (fungal infection of the feet)

barber's itch; tinea barbae (fungal infection of the face and neck)

tinea capitis (fungal infection of the scalp characterized by bald patches)

tinea corporis (fungal infection of nonhairy parts of the skin)

eczema marginatum; jock itch; tinea cruris (fungal infection of the groin (most common in men))

tinea unguium (fungal infection of the nails (especially toenails))

Credits

 Context examples: 

The researchers studied how roundworms (C. elegans) regulate expression of genes that are turned on by infection with microsporidia, which are natural intracellular pathogens of worms as well as humans.

(New Pathway for Handling Stress Discovered, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

To answer that question, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Assistant Professor Supriya Srinivasan, senior author of the new study and her colleagues experimented with roundworms called C. elegans, which are often used as model organisms in biology.

(Scientists Find Brain Hormone That Triggers Fat Burning, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

During the study, genetic screening revealed the identity of pals-22, a gene used by roundworms to regulate IPR pathway gene expression.

(New Pathway for Handling Stress Discovered, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)