A genus of long, slender, wormlike bivalve mollusks which boreinto submerged wood, such as the piles of wharves, bottoms of ships,etc.; -- called also shipworm. See Shipworm. See Illust. in App.
A wormlike marine bivalve mollusk with reduced shells which it uses to drill into wood. It can cause substantial damage to wooden structures and (formerly) ships.