worry

UK/ˈwʌ.ɹi/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British[ˈwʌɹɪj]

worry verb: to be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.

Verb

worry (third-person singular simple present worries, present participle worrying, simple past and past participle worried)

(intransitive) To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.
- So you go along for a long time / And nothing seems to worry your mind / But what it adds up to / It's the side effect / That finally gets to you1983, Ashford & Simpson, “Side Effect”, in High-Rise (album)
Synonyms:

fret, stress, fuss, concern, preoccupy, vex, gnaw
(transitive) Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress; to exercise.
- Your tone of voice worries me.
- That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition.2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848
(transitive) To harass; to irritate or distress.
- The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors.
(transitive) To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf.
- Your dog’s been worrying sheep again.
- This is the Dog, that worried the Cat, that killed the Rat, that ate the Malt, that lay in the Houſe that Jack built.1784, The House that Jack Built, page 7
(transitive) To touch repeatedly; to fiddle with.
- Christian paced the caravan, worrying his beard.1957, Sydney J. Bounds, The Robot Brains, London: Digit Books, page 58
- So what if I wanted to touch my nose to the windshield? Who was it hurting? Why was it that he could repeatedly worry his change and bite his lower lip without the threat of punishment?1997, David Sedaris, “A Plague of Tics”, in Naked, page 15
(Scotland, obsolete, transitive) To strangle.
- We read (Law's Memor. Pref. lix.) that "one John Brugh, a notorious warlock (wizard) in the parochin of Fossoquhy, by the space of thirty-six years, was worried at a stake and burned, 1643."1891, “Journal of Jurisprudence and Scottish Law Magazine”, in Execution of the Judgment of Death, page 397

Noun

worry (countable and uncountable, plural worries)

A strong feeling of anxiety.
- I'm afflicted by worry throughout the night.
- "Worry never solved any problems. Only gives you ulcers."1957, Sydney J. Bounds, The Robot Brains, London: Digit Books, page 35
Synonyms:

care
An instance or cause of such a feeling.
- My main worry is that I'll miss the train.
Synonyms:

care
A person who causes worry.
- They could never make him speak a word, although he was old enough, in short, he was a perfect worry night and day.1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 305

worry meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

worry in Hindi

to worry, fret: चिंता करना cintā karnā
to worry or grapple with; to rend and tear; to pull and gnaw: झँझोड़ना jhañjhoṛnā

worry in Tamil

to be troubled: கவலைப்படு kavalaippaṭu
strong feeling of anxiety: கவலை kavalai

worry in Marathi

worry, anxiety: फिकीर phikīr
to worry: काळजी करणे kāḷajī karaṇe

worry in Urdu

worry, fatigue, overwhelmed: ہلکان halkān
worry; distress: غم ġam
worry; grief: بوجھ bojh

More languagesFewer languages

worry in Bengali: চিন্তা cinta
worry in Telugu: చింతించు cintiñcu, చింత cinta, దిగులు digulu
worry in Malayalam: ഉത്കണ്ഠ utkaṇṭha, ആശങ്ക āśaṅka, വിഷമിക്കുക viṣamikkuka
worry in Kannada: ಕಾಳಜಿ kāḷaji
worry in Punjabi: ਫ਼ਿਕਰ fikar, ਚਿੰਦਾ cindā, غم ġam, ਗ਼ਮ ġam
worry in Gujarati: વિમાસવું vimāsvũ
worry in Assamese: চিন্তা sinta
worry in Tagalog: mag-alala
worry in Arabic: قَلِقَ qaliqa, قَلَق qalaq
worry in Malay: risau, bimbang, runsing
worry in Persian: نگرانی negarâni, دلواپسی delvâpasi
worry in Thai: ทุกข์ร้อน túk-rɔ́ɔn
worry in Vietnamese: lo, lo lắng, lo ngại
worry in Myanmar: ပူ pu

Examples of worry in a sentence

Every time I go outside, I worry that someone will read me.
Don't worry, this fabric will wear. These pants will last you for years.
Sorry for pouring ketchup on your clean white shirt! - Oh, don't worry, it does not matter.

All 40 example sentences with worry

Synonyms of worry

All synonyms of worry

Forms of worry

Verb
third-person singular present	worries
present participle	worrying
past participle	worried
past	worried
Noun
plural	worries

Past tense of worry: worried

Plural of worry: worries

Origin of worry

From Middle English worien (“to choke, strangle”), from Old English wyrġan, from Proto-West Germanic *wurgijan, from Proto-Germanic *wurgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Cognate with Dutch worgen, wurgen, German würgen. Compare Latin urgere (“to press, push”), Sanskrit वृहति (vṛhati, “to tear out, pluck”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string; squeeze”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”). Related to wring.

Words formed from worry

Phrases with worry

Words that rhyme with worry

1 more rhymesFewer rhymes

whurry

Questions about worry

What does worry mean?: Worry means to be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt.
What is worry in Hindi?: Worry in Hindi is चिंता करना (cintā karnā), झँझोड़ना (jhañjhoṛnā). See Worry meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is worry?: Worry can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce worry?: Worry is pronounced /ˈwʌ.ɹi/ (UK).
What is the past tense of worry?: The past tense of worry is worried.

Words near worry in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-worry.ogg.

Cite this entry: “worry.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/worry. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.