[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/silkworm/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [S](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/s/) / silkworm

# silkworm

noun (a silkworm, silkworms)

«silkworm» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

A silkworm is the caterpillar of the silk moth, which spins a cocoon of fine silk thread; people use this thread to make silk cloth. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#m1)

### In the lessons

In science and history lessons silkworms show life cycles (egg, caterpillar, cocoon/pupa, moth) and the story of silk: it was first made in ancient China, which kept the secret for a long time, and silk was traded along the Silk Road. Silkworms eat only mulberry leaves. One cocoon can be made of a single thread up to about 1 km long. To get the silk, the cocoons are usually boiled, which kills the pupa — some people prefer «peace silk». Phrases: «silkworm cocoon», «mulberry leaves», «the Silk Road».

### Examples

- Silkworms eat only mulberry leaves. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#x1)
- The silkworm spun a white cocoon around itself. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#x2)
- Silk cloth is made from the thread of silkworms. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#x3)
- Ancient China kept silkworms secret for centuries. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#x4)
- Our class watched silkworms turn into moths. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#x5)
- A single silkworm cocoon is made of one very long thread. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#x6)
- Silkworm moths cannot fly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/#x7)

### Note

Plural «silkworms». Trap: a silkworm is not a worm; it is a caterpillar (an insect larva). Silk moths have been kept by people for so long that they can no longer live in the wild.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «silkworm» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/silkworm/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«silkworm» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/silkworm.html) on Mova free.