badger

noun

bad·ger | \ ˈba-jər

Definition of badger

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : any of various burrowing mammals (especially Taxidea taxus and Meles meles) of the weasel family that are widely distributed in the northern hemisphere

b : the pelt or fur of a badger

2 capitalized : a native or resident of Wisconsin —used as a nickname

badger

verb

badgered; badgering; badgers

Definition of badger (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to harass or annoy persistently … the mill foreman so taunted the workers, so badgered them and told them that they dared not quit …— Sinclair Lewis

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Choose the Right Synonym for badger

Verb

bait, badger, heckle, hector, chivy, hound mean to harass by efforts to break down. bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim. baited the chained dog badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy. badgered her father for a car heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker. drunks heckled the stand-up comic hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering. football players hectored by their coach chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging. chivied the new student mercilessly hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing. hounded by creditors

Examples of badger in a Sentence

Verb She finally badgered me into cutting my hair.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun When dinosaurs dominated terrestrial ecosystems, the largest mammals topped out at the size of a badger. — New York Times, 31 Mar. 2022 Theodore Roosevelt was gifted a badger by a girl in Kansas during a train stop. — Leanne Italie, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2022 Theodore Roosevelt was gifted a badger by a girl in Kansas during a train stop. — Leanne Italie, Chron, 29 Jan. 2022 Or what if it is dug up by a badger and carried away by a magpie? — David G.w. Birch, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022 Theodore Roosevelt was gifted a badger by a girl in Kansas during a train stop. — Leanne Italie, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2022 Theodore Roosevelt was gifted a badger by a girl in Kansas during a train stop. — Leanne Italie, Chron, 29 Jan. 2022 Theodore Roosevelt was gifted a badger by a girl in Kansas during a train stop. — Leanne Italie, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2022 Theodore Roosevelt was gifted a badger by a girl in Kansas during a train stop. — Leanne Italie, Chron, 29 Jan. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb It’s what emboldens a group of Republican senators to badger, interrupt and disrespect a highly qualified, Black woman judge nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. — Elaine Ayala, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Mar. 2022 Presumably those praying for you haven’t just tried to badger you out of your beliefs? — Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2021 The turning point came when his buddy Cesar tried to badger him into joining the swim team. — Andrew Heffernan, Men's Health, 8 Feb. 2022 When his team needs a big steal late in a game, Jaylen Clark can use his active hands and quick feet to badger his counterpart into a turnover. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2022 But there would be far less need for Beijing to badger businesses into making these ad hoc donations if the state itself had a more progressive tax system overall. — Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2021 Orwell and the other protester continued to badger schoolchildren congregated outside until two adults approached from the other side of the fence to film them. — Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2021 Saving some of the Vietnamese whose cause had been betrayed was left to young, volunteer Foreign Service officers willing to badger and cajole their superiors into doing the right and honorable thing. — Stephen B. Young, Star Tribune, 10 July 2021 At times, the approach has been simply to badger the pair. — The Editors, National Review, 4 June 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'badger.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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