badger

noun bad·ger \ ˈba-jər \

|Updated on: 9 Aug 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

Lions, cheetahs and leopards may be spotted during the day, while night brings out a parade of smaller carnivores, including serval, genets, civets, pale foxes and honey badgers.

— rachel nuwer, New York Times, "In Chad, the Elephants (So Many Elephants) Are Back," 14 May 2018
Hipsters and anyone else coveting the porous, soft-tipped luxury of badger-hair shaving brushes may be among the commenters, as the bristles also made the list published by the U.S. Trade Representative's office.

— dave mccombs and andrew hobbs, chicagotribune.com, "Badger hair, bull semen, MSG among products on Trump's China tariff list," 11 July 2018
Dachshunds, which were bred in the Middle Ages to flush badgers out of their burrows, are the 13th most popular dog breed, according to the American Kennel Club.

— laura m. holson, New York Times, "That Shaggy Mutt? At Dog Museums, Our Drooling Companions Are the Stars," 22 Apr. 2018
Worse, humans also hunt the animals — deer, badgers and hares — that wild Amur feed on.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "For the Fourth, bring out the (San Diego Zoo) babies!," 3 July 2018
Some men love the ritual of the badger brush and lathering up, etc.).

— ellen warren, chicagotribune.com, "Is a 3-day beard a deal breaker — or just scruffy enough?," 2 July 2018
The population of animals like polecats, pine martens and badgers have sprung back, now that they are not longer widely trapped or killed for being pests.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "The UK’s Hedgehogs (and Other Mammals) Are In Danger," 16 June 2018
But there were no complaints among the black bears, badgers, javelinas and more celebrating the eighth birthday of Bearizona Wildlife Park Tuesday, May 22.

— scott craven, azcentral, "Bears maul pinatas, savor treats at wild(life) Bearizona birthday party," 23 May 2018
London's busy Leicester Square has been transformed into a nocturnal woodland scene with frogs, hares and badgers taking over the central gardens.

— greg morago, Houston Chronicle, "First look: The Cottonmouth Club," 11 Apr. 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Mammals Terms

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

badger

verb

Definition of badger

badgered; badgering; badgers

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

While Republicans badgered Strzok and tried to catch him off-guard, Democrats mostly used their time to argue for the importance of the Mueller investigation.

— aaron blake, BostonGlobe.com, "6 key moments from Peter Strzok’s wild hearing," 12 July 2018
Officials cited examples such as whistling at a woman, badgering her for her phone number or following her on the street.

— amanda erickson, Washington Post, "France takes a step forward in fighting catcallers but falls short on setting age of consent," 20 May 2018
Some said Strauss groped them barehanded during physicals, had them drop their pants even while examining them for a cough or heartburn, and badgered students to go home with him.

— james freeman, WSJ, "Jim Jordan and Ohio State," 10 July 2018
The honey badger, known for being an aggressive animal, got into a tussle with an antelope at Etosha National Park in Namibia.

— chris ciaccia, Fox News, "Antelope sends honey badger flying in epic fight," 6 July 2018
Jordan badgered Rosenstein for several minutes, clearly trying to get under his skin.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "Rod Rosenstein shuts down Jim Jordan over Fox News report," 28 June 2018
Perhaps if Rattín had simply got on with the game, rather than spending his time badgering the referee, Argentina could have beaten England or, at the very least, taken them all the way to the lottery of a coin toss.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 8 Days to Go - What if Antonio Rattín Hadn’t Been Sent Off?," 6 June 2018
The 2018 emoji, initially announced in February, also include a woman's flat shoe, a pirate flag, a tooth, a bone, toilet paper, a microbe, a peacock, badger, raccoon, swan, salt, skateboard and more.

— melinda morris, NOLA.com, "New emoji: redheads, mosquito and a sweaty, hot face," 1 June 2018
Some said Strauss groped them barehanded during physicals, had them drop their pants even while examining them for a cough or heartburn, and badgered students to go home with him.

— kantele franko, adnrew welsh-huggins, john seewer, Cincinnati.com, "Ex-athletes say Ohio State doc groped, ogled men for years," 6 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of badger

from the sport of baiting badgers

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1782

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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.