worry

American  

[wur-ee, wuhr-ee] / ˈwɜr i, ˈwʌr i /

verb (used without object)

worries, present (3rd person singular) worried, past participle, past worrying present participle

1. to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.

2. to move with effort.

   an old car worrying uphill.

---

verb (used with object)

worries, present (3rd person singular) worried, past participle, past worrying present participle

1. to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.

   Synonyms:

   distress, badger, hector, harry, tease

2. to seize, especially by the throat, with the teeth and shake or mangle, as one animal does another.

3. to harass by repeated biting, snapping, etc.

noun

worries plural

1. a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.

   Synonyms:

   fear, misgiving, disquiet, solicitude, apprehension

2. a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.

3. the act of worrying.

4. Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the carcass of a fox.

verb phrase

1. worry along / through to progress or succeed by constant effort, despite difficulty.

   to worry through an intolerable situation.

idioms

1. no worries, Also not to worry

   1. Don’t be worried or troubled; everything will be fine.

      We'll help you move your stuff, no worries!

   2. (used as a conventional reply to thank you or thanks).

      Oh, no worries, it was fun having you come with us!

worry British  

/ ˈwʌrɪ /

verb

1. to be or cause to be anxious or uneasy, esp about something uncertain or potentially dangerous

2. (tr) to disturb the peace of mind of; bother

   don't worry me with trivialities

3. (intr; often foll by along or through) to proceed despite difficulties

4. to struggle or work

   to worry away at a problem

5. (tr) (of a dog, wolf, etc) to lacerate or kill by biting, shaking, etc

6. to bite, tear, or gnaw (at) with the teeth

   a dog worrying a bone

7. (tr) to move as specified, esp by repeated pushes

   they worried the log into the river

8. (tr) to touch or poke repeatedly and idly

9. obsolete to choke or cause to choke

10. informal you need not worry

---

noun

1. a state or feeling of anxiety

2. a person or thing that causes anxiety

3. an act of worrying

4. informal an expression used to express agreement or to convey that something is proceeding or has proceeded satisfactorily; no problem

Usage

What are other ways to say worry? The noun worry means “a worried condition or feeling.” How does worry compare to synonyms care and concern? Learn more on Thesaurus.com. 

Synonym Usage

Worry, annoy, harass all mean to disturb or interfere with someone's comfort or peace of mind. To worry is to cause anxiety, apprehension, or care: to worry one's parents. To annoy is to vex or irritate by continued repetition of interferences: to annoy the neighbors. Harass implies long-continued disturbance, torment, or persecution: to harrass a creditor.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• worrying
  adjective
• worryingly
  adverb
• worriless
  adjective
• worrier
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• worries
  plural

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has worried
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have worried
  perfect
• is worrying
  progressive 3rd person singular
• has been worrying
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are worrying
  progressive
• worrying
  participle
• have been worrying
  perfect progressive
• am worrying
  progressive 1st person singular
• worries
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had worried
  perfect
• were worrying
  progressive plural
• was worrying
  progressive singular
• had been worrying
  perfect progressive
• worried
  simple
• worried
  participle

Future

• will worry
  simple
• will have worried
  perfect
• will have been worrying
  perfect progressive
• will be worrying
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of worry

First recorded before 900; Middle English weryen, werwen, wyrwyn “to strangle, bite, harass,” Old English wyrgan “to strangle”; cognate with German würgen

Explanation

The verb worry is an anxious word; it means to be concerned or nervous. If you sent your carrier pigeon out in the morning to deliver a message, you might worry if it hadn't returned by the afternoon. When you worry, you feel uneasy — the way you might worry that you've got spinach in your teeth when you're at a job interview. When it's an animal doing the worrying, it takes on a different meaning: a dog will worry a bone — or gnaw on it and play with it, for hours. The word worry comes from the Old English wyrgan, which originally meant "strangle," and changed over the years to mean first "harass," and then "cause anxiety to."

Example Sentences

What may be a worry bigger than SpaceX is OpenAI and Anthropic outshining each other.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

Now Narayen is poised to step down at a time when the most extreme skeptics worry AI will render the software industry obsolete.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

If we’re going to worry about the disappearing summer job, let’s worry about the teenagers who need it most.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

"You do what you want, but I'm not going to worry," he said.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

Finally, in a kind of mad worry, I took off his harness and let him run free, thinking he might just follow us as we made our way through the darkness.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• anguish
• apprehension
• concern
• doubt
• fear
• headache
• misery
• misgiving
• pain
• problem
• uncertainty
• uneasiness
• woe