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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

3 entries under this word

Worry

Wōr'ry, v. t.

verbtransitive

(wŭr'ry), v. t. [imp. & p. p. WORRIED; p. pr. & vb. n. WORRYING.] [D. worgen, waurgen, to strangle, L. Ger. worgen, O. H. Ger. wurgian, wurgen, M. H. Ger. worgen, würgen, N. H. Ger. würgen.] 1. To harass with importunity, or with care and anxiety; to vex; to annoy; to torment; to tease; to trouble; to plague. “A church worried with reformation.” South. Let them rail, And then worry one another at their pleasure. Rowe. Worry him out till he gives his consent. Swift.

  1. To harass with labor; to fatigue. [Colloq.]
  2. To harass by pursuit and barking; also, to tear or mangle with the teeth.

A hell-hound that doth hunt us all to death; That dog that hath his teeth before his eyes, To worry lambs, and lap their gentle blood. Shak.

Wŏr'ry, v. i.

verbintransitive

(wŭr'rȳ), v. i. To express undue care and anxiety; to manifest disquietude or pain; as, the child worries; to suffer from undue exertion; as, the cattle worry.

Wōr'ry, n.

noun

(wŭr'ry), n. A state of undue solicitude; a state of disturbance from care and anxiety; vexation; anxiety; trouble; as, to be in a worry.