Worries, getting small stroke (6)
I believe the answer is:
caress
'stroke' is the definition.
(I know that caress is a type of stroke)
'worries getting small' is the wordplay.
'worries' becomes 'cares' (I've seen this in another clue).
'getting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'cares'+'s'='CARESS'
(Other definitions for caress that I've seen before include "pet" , "Stroke lovingly" , "Stroke fondly" , "Scares into handle lovingly" , "Stoke affectionately" .)