worry beads

plural noun

: a string of beads that can be fingered to keep one's hands occupied

Examples of worry beads in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In these highlands, road signs are pockmarked with bullets, and heavily armed statues of revolutionary heroes dominate village squares where whiskery men in black monitor passing vehicles with a flick of their cigarette or a flip of their worry beads. Rachel Howard, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2021 Low-Tech Low-tech options for handling sensory issues include simple tools for reducing anxiety and increasing focus, such as stress balls, worry beads, weighted vests, and standing desks. Lisa Jo Rudy, Verywell Health, 7 Mar. 2023 Some corporate chieftains are working the worry beads too. Rich Miller, Fortune, 4 June 2022 Konstantinos Varelas twisted a string of blue komboloi — Greek worry beads — outside his family’s restaurant on Main Street in El Monte. Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2020 From his left hand, below a fat gold watch, purple worry beads protrude through his knuckles. Alexander Clapp, The New Republic, 28 Sep. 2020 These sounds eventually give way to the clock tower’s chime and the click-tick of komboloi–Greek worry beads—that elders flip languidly with their fingers. Madeleine Speed, WSJ, 8 July 2020 Badi said, peering through large black rectangular spectacles, his hands fiddling with a chain of worry beads. Washington Post, 20 July 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'worry beads.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of worry beads was in 1956

Dictionary Entries Near worry beads

Cite this Entry

“Worry beads.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worry%20beads. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

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