Earworm means: A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
earworm
A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.
Seen in the wild
10 citations · last seen May 2026
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
Good Morning, Everyone! Hope you’re feeling great today!👋🏻👋🏻🌭🌭🌭 #BLouPicks 🎶🎶 #EarWorm 🎶🎶 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Parliament - Give Up The Funk 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 m.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWH...
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BlueskyMay 2026
An 'earworm' for me can last for several hours. Just a riff going round and round. It can be torture at times.
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BlueskyMay 2026
Funny that nothing…absolutely nothing has changed. Oh Superman, where are you now? #earworm youtu.be/Yq7FKO5DlV0
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BlueskyMay 2026
#NowPlaying Today's #Earworm by the Boston Pops. The Colonel Bogey March. open.spotify.com/track/26mF0j...
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BlueskyMay 2026
It’s Weenie Wednesday! 🌭 Happy hump-day to you and yours. What song is stuck in your head right now? #EarWorm #WafflinWeenieWednesday #HalfwayThere
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Definitions
#1·Apr 27, 2026
A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.
See it in action
“It's true. I awakened to go to the bathroom at night and sometimes I have a Monica earworm in my head.”
“Evening Verity! Had this as an occasional earworm all day after listening this morning 🎶🙌😄 it's so catchy. Hope you've had a wonderful Tuesday 😊”
“NO EMILY, I DONT WANT TO HEAR WHATEVER YOUR NEW EARWORM SUGGESTION IS 👀👀 🤣”
Origin: From ; senses 1 and 3 (“tune that keeps replaying in one’s head”; “earwig”) are a (from the idea of a creature burrowing into the ear, an erroneous belief where earwigs are concerned), while sense 2 (“moth larva”) refers to the fact that these pests infest, among other things, ears of maize or sweet corn. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
For parents
Earworm means: A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
earworm means: A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
Cluster: body
Heard in the wild
“An earworm, some hype, a buttery-smooth cover, and more, all in our most recent Instant Replay! Listen here: https://bit.ly/4etJPbi”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Evening Verity! Had this as an occasional earworm all day after listening this morning 🎶🙌😄 it's so catchy. Hope you've had a wonderful Tuesday 😊”
— Bluesky· May 2026“NO EMILY, I DONT WANT TO HEAR WHATEVER YOUR NEW EARWORM SUGGESTION IS 👀👀 🤣”
— Bluesky· May 2026“god the 16 bit remake of sunset park zone is such an earworm I love it youtu.be/6OWXFYpqXf8?...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“It's true. I awakened to go to the bathroom at night and sometimes I have a Monica earworm in my head.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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#2·Apr 27, 2026
(originally, US) (“larva of the moths (syn. ) and , which are agricultural pests”).
"It's been haunting me," she said. / "Yeah, well," he said, weakly. "Sometimes tunes do that." [...] "I don't mean that I heard it once before and caught an earworm. [...]"
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#3·Apr 27, 2026
(archaic) An order]] Dermaptera.
Heard in the wild
“Good Morning, Everyone! Hope you’re feeling great today!👋🏻👋🏻🌭🌭🌭 #BLouPicks 🎶🎶 #EarWorm 🎶🎶 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Parliament - Give Up The Funk 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 m.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWH...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“An 'earworm' for me can last for several hours. Just a riff going round and round. It can be torture at times.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Funny that nothing…absolutely nothing has changed. Oh Superman, where are you now? #earworm youtu.be/Yq7FKO5DlV0”
— Bluesky· May 2026“#NowPlaying Today's #Earworm by the Boston Pops. The Colonel Bogey March. open.spotify.com/track/26mF0j...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“It’s Weenie Wednesday! 🌭 Happy hump-day to you and yours. What song is stuck in your head right now? #EarWorm #WafflinWeenieWednesday #HalfwayThere”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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Other words near "earworm" (E)
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Semantically related
- brainworm85%
A song or melody that keeps playing inside of one's mind.
- brainworm75%
A catchy song, joke, or phrase lodged in your head for days. Stronger than "earworm" — brainworms feel parasitic. You didn't choose them; they chose you. The "Skibidi Toilet" theme is pure brainworm fuel.
- brainworm69%
A persistent delusion or obsession; a deeply-ingrained or unquestioned idea.