earworm means A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted. It carries an Arena rating of 1629, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, earworm ranks #165 of 13,498 for Most Vivid Words, #268 of 13,498 for Most Malleable Words, #491 of 13,499 for Most Ingenious Words, #602 of 13,498 for Most Elegant Words.
earworm is pronounced /ˈɪəwɜːm/.
Why “earworm” is a great word
A catchy tune or piece of music that persistently repeats in one’s mind, often involuntarily. From the German *Ohrwurm* (literally 'ear worm'), a calque evoking the notion of a melody burrowing into the mind like an insect into the ear. Unlike a 'hook'—a composer's deliberate, crafted phrase—or an 'obsession'—a consuming, freighted preoccupation—an earworm is a lighter, spectral, and involuntary tenant. It is the tinny refrain from a forgotten commercial looping at three a.m., the chorus of a pop song syncing with the rhythm of train wheels, the ghost of a jingle felt in the rhythmic tap of a finger on a steering wheel—a tiny, tenacious proof that memory has a soundtrack all its own, often playing the tracks we never chose.
Etymology
From ear + worm; senses 1 and 3 (“tune that keeps replaying in one’s head”; “earwig”) are a calque of German Ohrwurm (“tune that pops up in one’s memory all the time; earwig”) (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.
noun
- A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.“The chorus [of "Meeting in the Ladies Room" by Klymaxx] spawned an earworm so potent that women still mutter it as they exit for a bathroom break twenty years later.”
- An earwig; an insect of the order Dermaptera}}.“Earwig, [...] The ear-worm or grub, a well-known insect, with large transparent wings, which eats fruit and flower-leaves, and has been erroneously supposed to creep into the human brain through the ear; [...]”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- ostinato 84% match — A piece of melody, a chord progression, or a bass figure that is repeated over and over as a musical accompaniment. vs earworm →
- hyperfixation 82% match — A complete obsession or absorption in a subject or hobby to a point where a person appears to completely tune out their surroundings and where the person repeatedly returns to said subject or material. vs earworm →
- melomania 81% match — An abnormal love of music. vs earworm →
- melomaniac 80% match — One with an abnormal fondness of music; a person who loves music. vs earworm →
- leitmotif 79% match — A melodic theme associated with a particular character, place, thing or idea in an opera. vs earworm →
- contrafactum 79% match — The substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music. vs earworm →
- amusia 79% match — The inability to comprehend or respond to music. vs earworm →
- melomane 79% match — Synonym of melomaniac. vs earworm →