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badger

noun
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bad·​ger | \ ˈba-jər How to pronounce badger (audio) \

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 These can be horsehair or boar hair, but top-quality brushes use badger hair. — Bob Beacham, chicagotribune.com, "The best shave kit," 22 Dec. 2020 Most events and activities are described as Tarka would experience them with occasional glimpses of the world as perceived by badger, pine marten, fox, owl, heron and raven. — Washington Post, "When these animals talk, listen: Audiobooks give voice to a cat, a horse, a sheep and others," 14 Dec. 2020 Move quietly and stay alert for mule deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, coyote, badger and porcupine. — Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, "Flagstaff to Grand Canyon is one of Arizona's most gorgeous drives. Here's how to do it," 9 Oct. 2020 The most exciting discovery, Ryan said, was a badger just a couple of miles from downtown. — London Gibson, The Indianapolis Star, "Scrub Hub: Indianapolis has a ton of raccoons and we're not sure why," 22 Sep. 2020 Because besides being your state animal, badger are also a rabies vector. — Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'Late Show's' Stephen Colbert launches how-to-vote websites for every state, including Wisconsin," 16 Sep. 2020 The partnership is featured in Native American storytelling, and scientists have studied coyote-badger cooperation for quite some time. — Lily Katzman, Smithsonian Magazine, "Watch a Coyote and Badger Hunt Their Prey Together," 10 Feb. 2020 The most common combination is one coyote and one badger, although two coyotes will sometimes join forces, Campbell-Smith says. — Lily Katzman, Smithsonian Magazine, "Watch a Coyote and Badger Hunt Their Prey Together," 10 Feb. 2020 The celebrated insouciance of the honey badger, a weasel, is nothing to the equanimity of the porcupine. — Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, "Is Staying In Staying Safe?," 31 Aug. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Each time my name gets printed in The Post, Reporters badger me from coast to coast. — Washington Post, "Style Invitational Week 1416: The Year in Redo, Part 2," 23 Dec. 2020 Her job is to safely drive the bus and stay on schedule, not badger people about wearing masks. — Janet Moore, Star Tribune, "Metro Transit to passengers: Mask up, please," 12 Nov. 2020 But Vance’s inquiry into Trump’s taxes is just badgering the president. — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "Will the US Supreme Court let Trump keep his many secrets?," 10 May 2020 The problem: She’s also black, typecast in supporting roles as a comic-relief maid and constantly badgered to read her lines like Hattie McDaniel. — James Poniewozik, New York Times, "Review: ‘Hollywood’ Gives Movie History a Sudsy Rewrite," 30 Apr. 2020 There were the oversized googly eyes, a jet pilot helmet straight out of Star Wars, and badger (maybe cat?) mask. — Melissa Locker, Time, "Reporter Had No Idea His Facebook Filter Was on During Live Report and Results Are Highly Amusing," 25 Feb. 2020 Ava DuVernay’s four-part miniseries depicts Fairstein, as played by Felicity Huffman, as a win-at-all-costs prosecutor who badgered police and fellow prosecutors to secure confessions and hide exculpatory evidence from the defense. — Cicero Estrella, The Mercury News, "Central Park 5 prosecutor loses book deal following fallout from Netflix miniseries," 7 June 2019 Besides urging women not to badger their husbands, the posters also advised those working from home to dress up and wear makeup. — Caitlin Yilek, Washington Examiner, "Malaysian government tells women not to nag husbands during coronavirus lockdown," 1 Apr. 2020 Despite being known for his pugnacious style, particularly with Trump officials, Chris can hardly be expected to badger Andrew about New York’s response to the coronavirus. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, "Keeping Up With the Cuomos," 4 Apr. 2020

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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First Known Use of badger

Noun

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1782, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for badger

Noun

probably reduction of bageard, badgerde, from badge entry 1 + -ard; from the white mark on its forehead

Verb

from the sport of baiting badgers

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Time Traveler for badger

Time Traveler

The first known use of badger was in 1523

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Statistics for badger

Last Updated

10 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Badger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badger. Accessed 17 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for badger

badger

noun
How to pronounce badger (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of badger

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

See the full definition for badger in the English Language Learners Dictionary

badger

noun
bad·​ger | \ ˈba-jər How to pronounce badger (audio) \

Kids Definition of badger

 (Entry 1 of 2)

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

badger

verb
badgered; badgering

Kids Definition of badger (Entry 2 of 2)

: to annoy again and again

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More from Merriam-Webster on badger

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for badger

Nglish: Translation of badger for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about badger

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