worry
Americanverb (used without object)
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worries,
present (3rd person singular)
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worried,
past participle, past
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worrying
present participle
-
to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
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to move with effort.
an old car worrying uphill.
verb (used with object)
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worries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
worried,
past participle, past
-
worrying
present participle
noun
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worries
plural
-
a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.
- Synonyms:
- fear, misgiving, disquiet, solicitude, apprehension
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a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.
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the act of worrying.
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Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the carcass of a fox.
verb phrase
idioms
verb
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to be or cause to be anxious or uneasy, esp about something uncertain or potentially dangerous
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(tr) to disturb the peace of mind of; bother
don't worry me with trivialities
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(intr; often foll by along or through) to proceed despite difficulties
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to struggle or work
to worry away at a problem
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(tr) (of a dog, wolf, etc) to lacerate or kill by biting, shaking, etc
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to bite, tear, or gnaw (at) with the teeth
a dog worrying a bone
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(tr) to move as specified, esp by repeated pushes
they worried the log into the river
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(tr) to touch or poke repeatedly and idly
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obsolete to choke or cause to choke
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informal you need not worry
noun
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a state or feeling of anxiety
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a person or thing that causes anxiety
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an act of worrying
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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worrysimple
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worriessimple
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have worriedperfect
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has worriedperfect
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am worryingprogressive
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are worryingprogressive
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is worryingprogressive
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have been worryingperfect progressive
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has been worryingperfect progressive
Past
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worriedsimple
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had worriedperfect
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was worryingprogressive
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were worryingprogressive
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had been worryingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing worry
Motherlode: A Mother's Day Lexicon
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Brendan said 'don't worry about Naz, start photographing that kid in the corner. He's going to be bigger than Naz'. That was Daniel," Roberts said.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Yet some European officials are now beginning to worry that the buildup is shifting the balance of power on the continent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
“I hope to keep making records, but I also have the understanding that I have the freedom and liberation to be able to make a record and not necessarily worry about its commercial prospects.”
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
But the growth rate has caught the attention of some investment professionals who worry the attractive yields are causing some to overlook, or otherwise miss, the risks.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
I was beginning to worry when he rocketed out from under a fence ahead of us and down the lane, barking his head off.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
She worries that if she marked the videos as ads, she wouldn’t get paid—so she doesn’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
A rally in tech stocks led U.S. indexes higher, bringing some relief to investors after a rough stretch marked by inflation worries, an interest-rate hike, and an ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Adikalie mainly subcontracts to young people across Southwark, helping them to gain work experience, and while he hopes to keep offering these opportunities, he worries poor mobile service could hold the company back.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Best known for accurately calling the U.S. housing bust in 2007, Gundlach said he worries that “we’re past that point where everything’s viewed as beautiful” when it comes to the AI trade.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
I’d been so wrapped up in family worries since that conversation that I hadn’t come back to plan how to put his advice into practice.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Campbell’s acquired Rao’s, and there are armies of people online who remain convinced that something must have changed, despite Rao’s FAQ explicitly assuring worried customers that the company won’t “touch the sauce.”
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
Avyla said that with these major sporting events coming through town she’s worried the cost of living will continue to rise as her work gets busier and busier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Or at least he’s worried about disorderly selling of Tokyo’s holdings of Treasury debt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Conservationists have said they are worried a grant the charity had secured is at risk if the work is not completed in time.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Her hands were sweating so badly that she was worried her poem would suffer water damage.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
OpenAI has introduced a framework for reporting on worrying behaviors by its AI models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Among other worrying instances, OpenAI said one of its models during training added instructions to those summaries to hide mistakes or “misaligned behavior” from the user.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Some AI researchers say there are worrying signs of systems developing in their capabilities and power too quickly.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
She hired her house manager to allow her room for joy and to be fully present with her 6-year-old daughter instead of worrying about whether they were running low on laundry detergent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
It was pretty overwhelming trying to solve their task and worrying about Valley, but at the very least, there were others helping the Gran.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
