worry

wor|ry¹ W2S1 [ˈwʌri US ˈwə:ri] v past tense and past participle worried present participle worrying third person singular worries

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1¦(be anxious)¦

2 don't worry

3¦(make somebody anxious)¦

4 not to worry

5 nothing to worry about

6¦(annoy)¦

7¦(animal)¦

Phrasal verbs

　worry at something/somebody

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[: Old English; Origin: wyrgan 'to strangle']

1.) ¦(BE ANXIOUS)¦

to be anxious or unhappy about someone or something, so that you think about them a lot

worry about

▪ I worry about my daughter.

▪ You've really got no need to worry about your weight.

worry (that)

▪ She worried that she wasn't doing enough to help.

worry over

▪ Dad worries over the slightest thing.

▪ Don't tell Mum about this - she's got enough to worry about (=she already has a lot of problems or is very busy) .

2.) don't worry

[i]spoken

a) used when you are trying to make someone feel less anxious

▪ Don't worry, darling, Daddy's here.

don't worry if

▪ Don't worry if you can't finish all the questions.

b) used to tell someone that they do not need to do something

don't worry about

▪ Don't worry about sorting them out - I'll do it later.

c) used to tell someone that you will definitely do something

▪ Don't you worry, I'll make sure he does his fair share.

3.) ¦(MAKE SOMEBODY ANXIOUS)¦ [T]

to make someone feel anxious about something

▪ The recent changes in the Earth's climate are beginning to worry scientists.

▪ I didn't tell Mum and Dad - I didn't want to worry them.

what worries me is .../the (only) thing that worries me is ...

▪ The only thing that worries me is the food. I don't want to get food poisoning.

▪ Doesn't it worry you that Sarah spends so much time away from home?

worry yourself

(=feel anxious, especially when there is no need to)

▪ You're worrying yourself unnecessarily.

4.) not to worry

BrE spoken used to say that something is not important

▪ Not to worry, we can always go another time.

5.) nothing to worry about

spoken used to tell someone that something is not as serious or difficult as they think

▪ It's just a check-up - nothing to worry about.

6.) ¦(ANNOY)¦ [T]

to annoy someone

= ↑bother

▪ The heat didn't seem to worry him.

7.) ¦(ANIMAL)¦ [T]

if a dog worries sheep, it tries to bite or kill them

worry at / [worry at sth/sb] phr v

1.) if an animal worries at a bone or piece of meat, it bites and shakes it

2.) if you worry at a problem, you think about it a lot in order to find a solution

worry ²

worry² S3 n plural worries

1.)

a problem that you are anxious about or are not sure how to deal with

sb's main/biggest/real etc worry

▪ My main worry is finding somewhere to live.

▪ I had a lot of financial worries .

be a worry to/for sb

▪ Money was always a big worry for us.

2.) [U and C]

the feeling of being anxious about something

be frantic/sick/desperate etc with worry

(=feel extremely anxious)

▪ His mother was desperate with worry.

▪ He's been a constant source of worry .

worry about

▪ We had no worries about safety.

3.) no worries

BrE spoken used to agree to what someone wants and to say that it will be no problem

▪ 'Can you deliver on Thursday?' 'Yeah, no worries, mate.'