hookworm

UK: /ˈhʊkˌwɜːm/ US: /ˈhʊkˌwɝm/ ,(hŏŏk′wûrm′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

hook•worm /ˈhʊkˌwɜrm/   n. 

1. Invertebrates [countable] a worm with hooks around its mouth that lives in the intestines of humans and other animals.
2. Pathology [uncountable] a disease caused by hookworms.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

hook•worm  (hŏŏk′wûrm′), n. 

1. Invertebrates any of certain bloodsucking nematode worms, as Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus, parasitic in the intestine of humans and other animals.
2. Pathology Also called hook′worm disease′. a disease caused by hookworms, which may enter the body by ingestion or through the skin of the feet or legs, causing abdominal pain, nausea, and, if untreated, severe anemia.

• hook¹ + worm 1900–05

hook′worm′y, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

hookworm / ˈhʊkˌwɜːm/ noun

1. any parasitic blood-sucking nematode worm of the family Ancylostomatidae, esp Ancylostoma duodenale or Necator americanus, both of which cause disease. They have hooked mouthparts and enter their hosts by boring through the skin