badger

noun bad·ger \ ˈba-jər \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of badger

1 a : 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

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Recent Examples of badger from the Web

The dogs were bred to assist on badger hunts, a popular pastime in 17th-century Europe.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Germany’s New Dachshund Museum Is Not Just for the Dogs," 10 Apr. 2018
The second factor is that Navarro is as relentless as a honey badger.

— Bloomberg.com, "After Defeating Cohn, Trump’s Trade Warrior Is on the Rise Again," 8 Mar. 2018
Tyrann Mathieu, likely the only honey badger in Arizona not living in captivity, is about to migrate.

— kent somers, azcentral, "Arizona Cardinals release safety Tyrann Mathieu," 14 Mar. 2018
Other animals making their debut include a kangaroo, a peacock, a swan, a badger, a rhino, a llama and a parrot.

— mallorie sullivan, Cincinnati.com, "Brace yourselves: A hippo emoji is coming to your smartphone this year," 9 Feb. 2018
The owls nest in holes abandoned by badgers and other burrowing mammals, but fencing around the depot had discouraged such mammals from making their home on the depot.

— jade mcdowell, The Seattle Times, "Oregon Military Department upgrades Camp Umatilla," 5 Feb. 2018
So did our ancestors — small mammals the size of squirrels or badgers — and the flying reptiles known as pterosaurs.

— kenneth chang, New York Times, "Where NASA Put a Parking Lot, Dinosaurs and Mammals Once Crossed Paths," 31 Jan. 2018
One wall is decorated with a painting of Hillary Clinton taking cash from some African warlord, another with a poster of a snarling honey badger, the Breitbart News mascot.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Looking for Trump in all the wrong places," 12 Feb. 2018
Like the other members of their Mustelidae family that includes mink, wolverines and badgers, otters are stunningly efficient predators.

— shanon tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Otters making a welcome return to Texas waterways," 15 Feb. 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of badger

probably reduction of bageard, badgerde, from badge + -ard; from the white mark on its forehead

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1523

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Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

badger

verb

Definition of badger

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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Examples of badger in a Sentence

She finally badgered me into cutting my hair.

Recent Examples of badger from the Web

Why not bring mom back as a talking, politically correct Prius, mercilessly badgering her environmentally insensitive son?

— joe queenan, WSJ, "A Wonderful Future for TV of the Past," 29 Mar. 2018
Ray was the subject of some social media badgering after the Beyhive mixed her up with Rachel Roy.

— ana calderone, PEOPLE.com, "Rachael Ray Responds to Being Mistaken for 'Becky with the Good Hair' on Beyoncé's Lemonade," 14 Mar. 2018
His mother said the family is aware of the smattering of crass fans who use social media to badger college kids when expectations not of their own making stagger.

— bryce miller, sandiegouniontribune.com, "It's Trey's time as Kell-led Aztecs fight into NCAA field," 13 Mar. 2018
Writer-director Christos Georgiou fares much better with a tense sequence in which the local police badger a couple of petty thieves, power quickly going to the officers' heads.

— Chicago Reader, "More than 60 new features premiere locally at the European Union Film Festival," 7 Mar. 2018
In 1988, George Gershwin’s former valet, Paul Mueller, asserted that Mr. Gershwin was indeed his boss’s son — but only, an eyewitness recalled, after Mr. Gershwin had badgered the old man unrelentingly.

— david margolick, New York Times, "Alan Gershwin, Who Claimed a Famous Father, Is Dead at 91," 6 Mar. 2018
Anastasia wear pajamas, cooks for Christian, and starts to badger him about starting a family.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'Fifty Shades Freed': The painful conclusion to the S&M romantic saga," 8 Feb. 2018
While researchers get a better handle on the science, campaigners badger politicians and browbeat consumers to kick the polymer habit.

— The Economist, "The environmentThe known unknowns of plastic pollution," 3 Mar. 2018
The Jaguars pestered and badgered and hit Brady frequently, evidenced by New England’s 3-for-12 performance on third downs.

— jarrett bell, USA TODAY, "Jaguars put on clinic on how to blow lead to Patriots," 21 Jan. 2018

Origin and Etymology of badger

from the sport of baiting badgers

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1782

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Synonym Discussion of badger

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.