wormhole

noun

worm·​hole ˈwərm-ˌhōl How to pronounce wormhole (audio)
1
: a hole or passage burrowed by a worm
2
: a hypothetical structure of space-time envisioned as a tunnel connecting points that are separated in space and time

Did you know?

If you associate wormhole with quantum physics and sci-fi, you'll probably be surprised to learn that the word has been around since William Shakespeare's day. To Shakespeare, a "wormhole" was simply a hole made by a worm, but even the Bard subtly linked wormholes to the passage of time; for example, in the poem The Rape of Lucrece, he notes time's destructive power "to fill with worm-holes stately monuments." To modern astrophysicists, a wormhole isn't a tunnel wrought by a slimy invertebrate, but a theoretical tunnel between two black holes or other points in space-time, providing a shortcut between its end points.

Examples of wormhole in a Sentence

We found tiny wormholes in the potatoes.
Recent Examples on the Web The bedroom window is ajar, but maybe the wormhole sucked her up? Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 1 Aug. 2024 But music has always been a wormhole into his heart and mind. Steve Hartman, CBS News, 26 July 2024 But in 2021, Laurent Fargues, of the Mathematics Institute of Jussieu in Paris, and Scholze devised what Scholze called a wormhole that carries ideas from the geometric column directly over to a part of the number theory Langlands program. Erica Klarreich, Quanta Magazine, 19 July 2024 Their gravitational hearts devour all light, and scientists suspect that the space inside black holes is stretchy and could grow forever or connect to other black holes through wormholes in spacetime. Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 30 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for wormhole 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wormhole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wormhole was in 1593

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Cite this Entry

“Wormhole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wormhole. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.

Kids Definition

wormhole

noun
worm·​hole ˈwərm-ˌhōl How to pronounce wormhole (audio)
1
: a hole or passage made by a worm
2
: a hypothetical object that is thought of as a tunnel connecting points that are widely separated in space and time

More from Merriam-Webster on wormhole

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