worm-eaten.

Hollowed or damaged by worms or insect larvae feeding or burrowing within it.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• worm-eaten timber
• worm-eaten beams

On the page

The worm-eaten beams could no longer support the roof.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror / gothic. Forms: Normally non-gradable; no ordinary comparative or superlative. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: atmosphere, description. Commonness: moderately common.