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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
From his left hand, below a fat gold watch, purple worry beads protrude through his knuckles. — Alexander Clapp, The New Republic, 28 Sep. 2020 Badi said, peering through large black rectangular spectacles, his hands fiddling with a chain of worry beads. — Washington Post, 20 July 2019 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 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

Word History

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

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

Rhymes for worry beads

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Browse Nearby Words

worry at
worry beads
worrying
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Cite this Entry

“Worry beads.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worry%20beads. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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