to worry
3
8.3
To touch or rub something again and again without thinking
- verb
- /ˈwɜri/
:
juguetear con
- "No," he said, and he worried his lower lip with his thumb.
- worry one's fingers
- worry one's lower lip
- worry at one's fingertip
Examples
-
As he listened to the news, he began worrying the edge of his shirt collar absentmindedly.
-
His large, gnarled hands were unconsciously worrying his hat.
Fiction book (1999) -
Her fingers worried a handkerchief.
Fiction book (1991) -
I worried the spikes of my elfin hair.
Fiction book (2002) -
Or she'd worry her T-shirt with her fingers, twisting it in anxious knots.
Fiction book (1996) -
He worried his lower lip with his thumb as he contemplated his next move.
-
Nervously, she worried a loose thread on her sleeve while waiting for the interview.
Synonyms
to fiddle with
vsto worry
32
3.9
To touch or move something nervously without thinking
touches or rubs objects repeatedly as a habitual fidgeting action
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
How Fidgety
Surface Forms
Etymology
Worry A helpful way to remember the meaning 'to touch or rub again and again' is to think of it as the same idea of bothering or working at something. So to worry a ring or a thread is to rub or fidget with it until it is worn or changed.