Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Worry
Wor′ry
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Worried
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Worrying
.] [OE.
worowen
, wirien
, to strangle, AS. wyrgan
in āwyrgan
; akin to D. worgen
, wurgen
, to strangle, OHG. wurgen
, G. würgen
, Lith. verszti
, and perhaps to E. wring
.] 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
That dog that had his teeth before his eyes,
To
worry
lambs and lap their gentle blood. Shakespeare
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
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
,Verb.
I.
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.
pl.
Worries
. A state of undue solicitude; a state of disturbance from care and anxiety; vexation; anxiety; fret;
“The whir and worry of spindle and of loom.” as, to be in a
. worry
Sir T. Browne.
Webster 1828 Edition
Worry
WORRY
,Verb.
T.
1.
To tease; to trouble; to harass with importunity, or with care and anxiety. Persons are often worried with care and solicitude.Let them rail and then worry one another at their pleasure.
Worry him out till he gives his consent.
A church worried with reformation.
2.
To fatigue; to harass with labor; a popular sense of the word.3.
To harass by pursuit and barking; as, dogs worry sheep.4.
To tear; to mangle with the teeth.5.
To vex; to persecute brutally.