tapeworm

noun

1. any of various flat or tapelike worms of the class Cestoidea, lacking an alimentary canal, and parasitic when adult in the alimentary canal of humans and other vertebrates: the larval and adult stages are usually in different hosts.

noun

1. any parasitic ribbon-like flatworm of the class Cestoda, having a body divided into many egg-producing segments and lacking a mouth and gut. The adults inhabit the intestines of vertebratesSee also echinococcus, taenia

n.1752, from tape (n.) + worm (n.); so called for its flat, ribbon-like shape. n.

1. Any of various ribbonlike, often very long flatworms of the class Cestoda, that lack an alimentary canal and are intestinal parasites in humans.

1. See cestode.

A worm with a long, flat body that can live in the human intestines as a parasite. Infestation with a tapeworm usually occurs as the result of eating raw meat or fish that contains the immature form of the worm.