badger

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noun bad·ger \ ˈba-jər \

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

To complete your Harry Potter makeup collection, the brand also sells Hogwarts House brushes that come with a Slytherin snake, Hufflepuff badger, Ravenclaw eagle, Gryffindor lion, and Hogwarts crest on top.

— kelsey stiegman, Seventeen, "These Time Turner Makeup Brushes Are Every "Harry Potter" Fan's Dream," 18 Aug. 2017
Brevin Pritzl, who will be a redshirt sophomore this year, hit 7 of 9 three-pointers and finished with 28 points to lead four Badgers in double-figure scoring.

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Hot-shooting Pritzl leads Badgers to victory in opener of five-game tour Down Under," 15 Aug. 2017
Wisconsin (15-4): Mind showing us your digits? Badgers tight end Troy Fumagalli might have the best hands in the Big Ten.

— teddy greenstein, chicagotribune.com, "Questions we want to ask the 14 Big Ten schools at football media days," 21 July 2017
In the Smithsonian’s museum of Asian arts, conservation is a rarefied world of badger-hair brushes and irradiated silks, poultices and pastes, scalpels and solvents.

— victoria dawson, Smithsonian, "Conservation of a Pair of Saint-Gaudens Goes al Fresco at the Freer," 18 July 2017
Sensing rumblings of discontent, battalions of bitter badgers burst from their burrows to battle their belittlers.

— alicia armstrong, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Boot the badger? A call to impeach the Wisconsin state animal," 6 July 2017
The Oak Park native, who won a Class 3A state title in the 3,200 meters as an OPRF senior in 2012, ended his Badgers career as a three-time All-American in cross country and a first team All-American in track in 2015.

— ryan nilsson, chicagotribune.com, "College notes: Madison Mallards' Thomas Smart named JUCO All-American," 5 July 2017
Walker, obstinately, goes through with his part of the idea; then, badgers Granger into fulfilling the other end.

— thr staff, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Strangers on a Train': THR's 1951 Review," 30 June 2017
Modern hyenas, like other carnivores such as badgers and otters, create latrines as part of their routine social behavior.

— National Geographic, "Ice Age Hyenas Left Clues About These Ancient Human Sites," 26 June 2017

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

See Words from the same year

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

See badger defined for English-language learners

Examples of badger in a Sentence

She finally badgered me into cutting my hair.

Recent Examples of badger from the Web

Having successfully badgered President Obama into releasing his birth certificate the year before, Trump started insinuating that his passport and college transcripts may also have been forged or missing.

— joshua green, Daily Intelligencer, "Steve Bannon Is Out of Trump’s Doghouse and Leading the Charge Against Mueller," 9 July 2017
Madison is an ideal market for the PGA Tour Champions – the city is just the right size and the tournament is the biggest thing going until Wisconsin Badgers football cranks up.

— gary d'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "D'Amato: American Family golf tournament hitting all the right notes," 24 June 2017
By the time the three of them were outside the drawbridge, the sun was badgered by clouds.

— kate osana simonian, chicagotribune.com, "2017 Algren Award winner: "Le Problem Being" by Kate Osana Simonian," 10 June 2017
Taunton, Massachusetts (CNN)Michelle Carter badgered her emotionally troubled boyfriend to take his own life before portraying herself as a grieving girlfriend, a Massachusetts prosecutor said Tuesday.

— ray sanchez and natisha lance, CNN, "Prosecutor: Woman in texting suicide case told boyfriend to kill himself," 6 June 2017
Recall that Trump abruptly ended a testy phone call with Turnbull a few days after taking office after badgering him about a refugee deal and bragging about his electoral college win.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: James Mattis emerges as the most un-Trumpian member of the cabinet," 5 June 2017
On the burden-sharing front, Trump has repeatedly badgered other members of the alliance to boost defense spending.

— rosie gray, The Atlantic, "NATO, Meet Donald Trump," 25 May 2017
From the audio, Jacobs does not sound at all badgering or aggressive, nor does Gianforte seem to have asked Jacobs to lower the recorder.

— jeet heer, New Republic, "We can’t allow violence against journalists to become a partisan issue.," 24 May 2017
Twitter Facebook − + Jordan Aquablue59 • 3 days ago Don't defend Taylor for a diss track and badger Katy.

— gil kaufman, Billboard, "Watch Katy Perry Finally Explain Taylor Swift Beef, Sing 'Swish, Swish' & More Hits in 'Carpool Karaoke'," 23 May 2017

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.

- 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

BADGER Defined for English Language Learners

badger

play

noun

Definition of badger for English Language Learners

: a type of animal that lives in the ground and has short thick legs and long claws on its front feet

BADGER Defined for Kids

badger

play

noun bad·ger \ ˈba-jər \

Definition of badger for Students

:a furry burrowing animal with short thick legs and long claws on the front feet

badger

verb

Definition of badger for Students

badgered; badgering

:to annoy again and again

Learn More about badger

See words that rhyme with badger Spanish Central: Translation of badger Nglish: Translation of badger for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about badger

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BADGER Defined for English Language Learners

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