worry Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness
    headache; vexation; concern.
    • New York traffic is a constant concern
    • it's a major worry
  2. noun a strong feeling of anxiety
    trouble.
    • his worry over the prospect of being fired
    • it is not work but worry that kills
    • he wanted to die and end his troubles
  3. verb be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
    • I worry about my job
  4. verb be concerned with
    care.
    • I worry about my grades
  5. verb disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress
    vex.
    • I cannot sleep--my daughter's health is worrying me
  6. verb be on the mind of
    occupy; interest; concern.
    • I worry about the second Germanic consonant shift
  7. verb lacerate by biting
    • the dog worried his bone
  8. verb touch or rub constantly
    • The old man worried his beads

WordNet

Wor"ry transitive verb
Etymology
OE. worowen, wirien, to strangle, AS. wyrgan in awyrgan; akin to D. worgen, wurgen, to strangle, OHG. wurgen, G. würgen, Lith. verszti, and perhaps to E. wring.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Worried ; present participle & verbal noun Worrying
Definitions
  1. To harass by pursuit and barking; to attack repeatedly; also, to tear or mangle with the teeth.
    A hellhound that doth hunt us all to death; That dog that had his teeth before his eyes, To worry lambs and lap their gentle blood. Shak.
  2. To harass or beset with importunity, or with care an anxiety; to vex; to annoy; to torment; to tease; to fret; to trouble; to plague. "A church worried with reformation." South.
    Let them rail, And worry one another at their pleasure. Rowe.
    Worry him out till he gives consent. Swift.
  3. To harass with labor; to fatigue. Colloq.
Wor"ry intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To feel or express undue care and anxiety; to manifest disquietude or pain; to be fretful; to chafe; as, the child worries; the horse worries.
Wor"ry noun
Wordforms
plural Worries
Definitions
  1. A state of undue solicitude; a state of disturbance from care and anxiety; vexation; anxiety; fret; as, to be in a worry. "The whir and worry of spindle and of loom." Sir T. Browne.

Webster 1913