badger
Americannoun
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badgers
plural
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any of various burrowing, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, as Taxidea taxus, of North America, and Meles meles, of Europe and Asia.
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the fur of this mammal.
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Australian.
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a wombat.
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(initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of Wisconsin the Badger State (used as a nickname).
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a swablike device for cleaning excess mortar from the interiors of newly laid tile drains.
verb (used with object)
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badgers,
present (3rd person singular)
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badgered,
past participle, past
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badgering
present participle
noun
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any of various stocky omnivorous musteline mammals of the subfamily Melinae , such as Meles meles ( Eurasian badger ), occurring in Europe, Asia, and North America: order Carnivora (carnivores). They are typically large burrowing animals, with strong claws and a thick coat striped black and white on the head Compare ferret badger hog badger
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another name for ratel
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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badgersimple
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badgerssimple
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have badgeredperfect
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has badgeredperfect
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am badgeringprogressive
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are badgeringprogressive
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is badgeringprogressive
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have been badgeringperfect progressive
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has been badgeringperfect progressive
Past
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badgeredsimple
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had badgeredperfect
-
was badgeringprogressive
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were badgeringprogressive
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had been badgeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of badger
1515–25; variant of badgeard, perhaps badge + -ard, in allusion to white mark or badge on head
Explanation
Badger is to bother. Persistently. On and on. Without stop. Relentlessly. Over and over. Endlessly. It comes from the name of that chipmunk-like animal that burrows into the ground. If you badger someone, you get under their skin. A badger is an animal that digs tunnels under ground to keep warm. To badger can also mean to persuade someone through constant annoying efforts. You might badger your mom to add another hour to your curfew or badger your friend to give you a turn with a video game he has been hogging.
Vocabulary lists containing badger
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
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The Cay
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Amazing Animals, A-Z
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"You can definitely see badger activity and we know that they are carriers, badger numbers should be monitored and see how that the effects of that in the spread."
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Tejon means “badger” in Spanish, and all it took was some Spaniard on an 1806 expedition happening upon a dead badger there for the name to stick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
"He deserves better than being replaced by a badger," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
The Government last month said it will not be extending the badger cull and retains its commitment to end the practice before the next election.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2025
Clare’s bleary eye opened to find the badger trundling away, crossing into Fernlight.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
I took a mat next to the American black bears and American badgers, only slightly jealous that the mats next to the large-scale walrus diorama were taken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The lakes region Mr. Hoffman describes as “magnetic and mercurial” is home to bears, wolves, badgers, otters and a surprising variety of other creatures, yet their ways of life are being threatened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"They blame badgers, but there are other elements that I'm sure will cause and contribute. I don't think there's enough traceability."
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
The land abutting the Pinto Mountains Wilderness is also home to badgers, bighorn sheep and Mojave fringe-toed lizards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
He wanted the best for all souls—even irritating badgers trying to steal his calling.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
In another encounter, he says, a woman appeared to have been "badgered into it".
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
He asked blistering public questions of city and state leaders, badgered Washington to investigate the fire, and joined other displaced residents in filing a lawsuit for “inverse condemnation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Later headlines would say that Solanas believed Warhol “controlled her life” and that he had “legal claim” over her self-published writing, which she frequently badgered him to read.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
For months, Meta’s algorithm badgered me to buy a little piece of plastic mounted on a magnet.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025
Then I half coaxed, half badgered him out of his bed and into the shower.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
Costco raised its fees in 2024 — the first such increase in seven years — after months of badgering from Wall Street.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
Those of ancient lineage may be thinking of the infamous LBJ phone call badgering the head of ABC to get college-football broadcasts for Lady Bird’s TV station.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
After successfully badgering his dad to take him to a local club to play on full-size tables at the age of eight, the young Hunter made the leap from table top snooker with aplomb.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026
During the trial, throughout which Heard was subject to badgering online, Heard expressed her desire to forgo the “torture” of the ongoing litigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
After repeated badgering by Farmer, Lilly was finally selling it to PIH in Peru for $21 a vial.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
