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
badgered; badgering; badgers
: 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
Sinclair LewisExamples of badger in a Sentence
Verb
She finally badgered me into going.
Recent Examples on the WebClaire Fahy, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024
Grey herons, tawny owls, bats, seagulls, groundhogs, badgers, rabbits and even the occasional fox or boar from the suburbs have been treated at the hospital.
—Jess McHugh, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
In another call, Woodward badgers Trump to apologize for the phone calls with Ukraine’s President Zelensky that led to his first impeachment.
—Susan Shelley, Orange County Register, 16 Mar. 2024
European weather lore details using a badger to predict the weather during the mid-winter holidays.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2024
Groundhog Day was originally celebrated with … a badger?
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 2 Feb. 2024
The trailer features Gru attempting a heist, fighting a feral honey badger, and putting up with the usual minion hijinks.
—Vulture, 28 Jan. 2024
These honey badgers could change the world for the better.
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 26 Jan. 2024
These animals included badgers, hedgehogs, bears and foxes.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 2 Feb. 2024
James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
There are moments of abject fear as the unbreakable Gee (Feodor Chin) is badgered and belittled by his interrogators, but also moments of sublime contemplation when a young man chisels a poem into the wall to mark his 17 months of suffering on the island.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
Other Ukrainian activists also badgered Western museums to review their collections.
—Constant Méheut, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024
That too, in tandem with revisiting the wider industrial, mining and manufacturing chain - a critical facet of the energy transition - and not just badger on about sources of energy supply.
—Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The man badgered Lynch to go swimming in the pool, with the suggestion that what happens in the backyard stays there.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024
Scientists studying four primate species have discovered that young apes badger with the best of us, suggesting humans share the art of causing annoyance with some of our closest relatives.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Instead, we are dropped into a press conference where Marley is being badgered about putting on a peace concert during civil war in Jamaica.
—The Arizona Republic, 12 Feb. 2024
Then the group expanded, setting up Kenya’s first toll-free number for tracing missing children and badgering local news organizations to air features on the missing.
—Rael Ombuor, Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2024
Noun
The rest — a group that over the years has included lions, parrots, eagles, badgers, sloths, a capybara, a bearcat and an anteater — are usually just stopping through.
—Claire Fahy, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024
Grey herons, tawny owls, bats, seagulls, groundhogs, badgers, rabbits and even the occasional fox or boar from the suburbs have been treated at the hospital.
—Jess McHugh, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
In another call, Woodward badgers Trump to apologize for the phone calls with Ukraine’s President Zelensky that led to his first impeachment.
—Susan Shelley, Orange County Register, 16 Mar. 2024
European weather lore details using a badger to predict the weather during the mid-winter holidays.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2024
Groundhog Day was originally celebrated with … a badger?
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 2 Feb. 2024
The trailer features Gru attempting a heist, fighting a feral honey badger, and putting up with the usual minion hijinks.
—Vulture, 28 Jan. 2024
These honey badgers could change the world for the better.
—Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 26 Jan. 2024
These animals included badgers, hedgehogs, bears and foxes.
—Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 2 Feb. 2024
Verb
All of this isn’t meant to be a quixotic attempt to badger Tarantino into changing his mind.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
There are moments of abject fear as the unbreakable Gee (Feodor Chin) is badgered and belittled by his interrogators, but also moments of sublime contemplation when a young man chisels a poem into the wall to mark his 17 months of suffering on the island.
—Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024
Other Ukrainian activists also badgered Western museums to review their collections.
—Constant Méheut, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024
That too, in tandem with revisiting the wider industrial, mining and manufacturing chain - a critical facet of the energy transition - and not just badger on about sources of energy supply.
—Gaurav Sharma, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The man badgered Lynch to go swimming in the pool, with the suggestion that what happens in the backyard stays there.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024
Scientists studying four primate species have discovered that young apes badger with the best of us, suggesting humans share the art of causing annoyance with some of our closest relatives.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Instead, we are dropped into a press conference where Marley is being badgered about putting on a peace concert during civil war in Jamaica.
—The Arizona Republic, 12 Feb. 2024
Then the group expanded, setting up Kenya’s first toll-free number for tracing missing children and badgering local news organizations to air features on the missing.
—Rael Ombuor, Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'badger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Badger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badger. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
badger
1 of 2 noun
bad·ger
ˈbaj-ər 
: any of several sturdy burrowing flesh-eating mammals widely distributed in the northern hemisphere
also
: the pelt or fur of a badger
badger
2 of 2 verb
badgered; badgering
ˈbaj-(ə-)riŋ
: to annoy again and again
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