bookworm

American  

[book-wurm] / ˈbʊkˌwɜrm /

noun

1. a person devoted to reading or studying.

2. any of various insects that feed on books, especially a booklouse.

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bookworm British  

/ ˈbʊkˌwɜːm /

noun

1. a person excessively devoted to studying or reading

2. any of various small insects that feed on the binding paste of books, esp the book louse

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Usage

What does bookworm mean? A bookworm is someone who’s always reading, usually because they just love to read or because they’re studying or both.Bookworm is sometimes used negatively to make fun of people who love to read. But it is more commonly used in a positive way, especially by book lovers proudly calling themselves bookworms. Bookworm can also be used literally as a general name for any insect that eats books.Example: Bookworms usually have huge vocabularies, so be careful when you play one in Scrabble.

Etymology

Origin of bookworm

First recorded in 1590–1600; book + worm

Example Sentences

Cinematographer Łukasz Żal frames the scene in a pane of window glass so that Agnes’ reflection ripples across Will’s yearning face, contrasting the earthy enchantress with the indoor bookworm.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

An under-the-radar prospect from Miami, Mendoza was such a bookworm in high school that some coaches stopped pursuing him because they questioned whether he really wanted to play football.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

He was a lifelong bookworm who recalled taking out up to four novels a day from his local public library.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2023

We’ve been asking our sources, our colleagues and our bookworm friends about their favorite books of 2022.

From New York Times • Dec. 16, 2022

She doesn’t say what she’d like you to get the Ph.D. in, but I assume Math rather than Greek, you dirty little bookworm.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger