shipworm
noun
ship·worm ˈship-ˌwərm 
: any of various marine clams (especially family Teredinidae) that have a shell used for burrowing in submerged wood and a wormlike body and that cause damage to wharf piles and wooden ships
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Shipway determined a species of naval shipworm called Teredo navalis was likely responsible for eating away the interior of the historic vessel. 
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2022 Shipway spent the day Wednesday looking at shipworm samples under a microscope at Harvard University. Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2022 The tissue connecting the two halves of wood is a shipworm. Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2022 The shipworms created over 100 strains of bacteria — about 12 of which are being tested for their potential to create new medical treatments, CNN reported. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2020 But the bacteria found from the shipworms that had been living inside the 60,000-year-old wood had never been discovered before. Alicia Lee, CNN, 7 Apr. 2020 The shipworms could also pick it apart faster than researchers can. Joanna Klein, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2020 Previous strains of shipworm bacteria have led to antibiotics that treat parasitic infections in the past, according to NOAA. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2020 When the wood was taken back to the lab, scientists discovered more than 300 organisms and animals living inside the wood, including shipworms, which is a type of clam that has the ability to transform wood into animal tissue, according to CNN. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2020 See More
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2022 Shipway spent the day Wednesday looking at shipworm samples under a microscope at Harvard University. Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2022 The tissue connecting the two halves of wood is a shipworm. Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2022 The shipworms created over 100 strains of bacteria — about 12 of which are being tested for their potential to create new medical treatments, CNN reported. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2020 But the bacteria found from the shipworms that had been living inside the 60,000-year-old wood had never been discovered before. Alicia Lee, CNN, 7 Apr. 2020 The shipworms could also pick it apart faster than researchers can. Joanna Klein, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2020 Previous strains of shipworm bacteria have led to antibiotics that treat parasitic infections in the past, according to NOAA. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2020 When the wood was taken back to the lab, scientists discovered more than 300 organisms and animals living inside the wood, including shipworms, which is a type of clam that has the ability to transform wood into animal tissue, according to CNN. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
circa 1778, in the meaning defined above