I. wor ‧ thy 1 /ˈwɜːði $ ˈwɜːrði/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ worth , ↑ worthlessness , ↑ worthy , ↑ unworthiness ; adjective : worth, ↑ worthless , ↑ worthwhile , ↑ worthy ≠ ↑ unworthy ]
1 . [only before noun] deserving respect from people:
Leeds United were worthy winners of the competition.
a worthy opponent
2 . be worthy of something to deserve to be thought about or treated in a particular way:
A couple of other books are worthy of mention.
a teacher who is worthy of respect
3 . be worthy of somebody informal to be as good as something that a particular person would do:
a goal that was worthy of any of the great footballers of the world
4 . I’m/We’re not worthy spoken used humorously to say that you consider it a great honour to be with someone because they are famous, or much more skilful at doing something than you are
5 . formal trying to help other people:
The money will go to a worthy cause.
I’m sure his motives were worthy.
II. worthy 2 BrE AmE noun ( plural worthies ) [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ worth , ↑ worthlessness , ↑ worthy , ↑ unworthiness ; adjective : worth, ↑ worthless , ↑ worthwhile , ↑ worthy ≠ ↑ unworthy ]
informal someone who is important and should be respected:
We were met by a group of local worthies.