earworm

Definitions

Examples

• The upbeat earworm “Oxytocin” sees the singer trying out a techno sound paired with vocals reminiscent of Karen O during her Yeah Yeah Yeahs era.

• “ASAP” may not be the type of instant earworm that its predecessor, “So Bad,” was, but its charm is undeniable once the song’s melodies take hold.

• Both of these songs are earworms that might’ve been top 10 hits in a different place or time.

• There are earworms that could double as self-refilling serotonin boosters, while other songs are heart-splitting epiphanies about love, grief, community, and pride.

• The opener, “Perfect Us,” is an upbeat earworm as singer Kuhoo Verma — who dexterously tackles all three tunes — is enveloped in a green-screened collage of Americana.

• From Lorde to Daft Punk, DJ Earworm seamlessly edited a mashup of the 25 biggest hits of 2013.

• “Cups” has had the unlikeliest of journeys to summer earworm.

• But in the 1990s, the English word "earworm" gained the meaning "a song or melody that keeps repeating in one's mind."

• The newer sense of "earworm" is actually influenced by the German word for this phenomenon—a word that translates to "earworm."

• "Earworm" has been around for quite some time to refer to a pest that burrows into the ears of corn.