Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

wors|en /wɜː ^r sən/ (worsens , worsening , worsened ) VERB If a bad situation worsens or if something worsens it, it becomes more difficult, unpleasant, or unacceptable. □ [V ] The security forces had to intervene to prevent the situation worsening. □ [V n] These options would actually worsen the economy and add to the deficit. □ [V -ing] They remain stranded in freezing weather and rapidly worsening conditions.

wor|ship /wɜː ^r ʃ I p/ (worships , worshipping , worshipped ) in AM, use worshiping , worshiped 1 VERB If you worship a god, you show your respect to the god, for example by saying prayers. □ [V n] I enjoy going to church and worshipping God. □ [V ] …Jews worshipping at the Wailing Wall. ● N‑UNCOUNT Worship is also a noun. □  St Jude's church is a public place of worship. ●  wor|ship|per (worshippers ) N‑COUNT □  At the end of the service, scores of worshippers streamed down to the altar.

2 VERB If you worship someone or something, you love them or admire them very much. □ [V n] She had worshipped him for years.

wor|ship|ful /wɜː ^r ʃ I pfʊl/ ADJ [ADJ n] If someone has a worshipful attitude to a person or thing, they show great respect and admiration for them. □  …Franklin's almost worshipful imitation of his cousin.

worst ◆◇◇ /wɜː ^r st/

1Worst is the superlative of bad .

2Worst is the superlative of badly .

3 N‑SING The worst is the most unpleasant or unfavourable thing that could happen or does happen. □  Though mine safety has much improved, miners' families still fear the worst. □ [+ of ] The country had come through the worst of the recession.

4Worst is used to form the superlative of compound adjectives beginning with 'bad' and 'badly'. For example, the superlative of 'badly-affected' is 'worst-affected'.

5 PHRASE You say worst of all to indicate that what you are about to mention is the most unpleasant or has the most disadvantages out of all the things you are mentioning. □  I felt tired and depleted, but worst of all I felt all my confidence drop away.

6 PHRASE You use at worst or at the worst to indicate that you are mentioning the worst thing that might happen in a situation. □  At best Nella would be an invalid; at worst she would die.

7 PHRASE When someone is at their worst , they are as unpleasant, bad, or unsuccessful as it is possible for them to be. □  This was their mother at her worst. She was ready to be angry at anyone.

8 PHRASE You use if the worst comes to the worst to say what you might do if a situation develops in the most unfavourable way possible. The form if worst comes to worst is also used, mainly in American English. □  If the worst comes to the worst I guess I can always ring Jean. □  He was asked whether he would walk out if the worst came to the worst.

wor|sted /wʊ st I d/ (worsteds ) N‑VAR Worsted is a kind of woollen cloth.

worth ◆◆◇ /wɜː ^r θ/

1 ADJ If something is worth a particular amount of money, it can be sold for that amount or is considered to have that value. □  These books might be worth £80 or £90 or more to a collector. □  The contract was worth £25 million a year.

2 N‑COUNT Worth combines with amounts of money, so that when you talk about a particular amount of money's worth of something, you mean the quantity of it that you can buy for that amount of money. □ [+ of ] I went and bought about six dollars' worth of potato chips. ● PRON Worth is also a pronoun. □  'How many do you want?'—'I'll have a pound's worth.'