Also: Worry oneself to death
Meaning of Idiom ‘Worried to Death’
To be worried to death means to be extremely worried or anxious. 1
See worried sick.
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Examples Of Use
“The hurricane is about to make landfall. Do you think everyone got out okay?” “I don’t know and I’m worried to death about it.”
“I keep hearing that Casey is drinking again. It worries me to death.”
“You’re worrying yourself to death over nothing.”
Origin
Used since the second half of the 1800s, 2 this idiom is a more emphatic version of worried sick but is also one of several similar idioms such as bored to death and sick to death.
More Idioms Starting with W
- Waste One’s Breath
- Wash Your Hands of (Someone or Something)
- What’s the Damage?
- Work One’s Fingers To the Bone
- Out of Wedlock
More Death Idioms
More Worry Idioms
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References
- Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
- Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.