pester

[ pes-ter ]
See synonyms for pester on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble: Don't pester me with your trivial problems.

  2. Obsolete. to overcrowd.

Origin of pester

1
1530–40; perhaps aphetic variant of empester,impester to tangle, encumber (though pester is found earlier than these 2 words) <Middle French empestrer to hobble, entangle <Vulgar Latin *impāstōriāre to hobble, equivalent to im-im-1 + pāstōri(a) a hobble, noun use of Latin pāstōrius of a herdsman or shepherd + -āre infinitive suffix (see pastor); aphetic form apparently reinforced by pest (cf. -er6)

Other words for pester

Opposites for pester

Other words from pester

  • pes·ter·er, noun
  • pes·ter·ing·ly, adverb
  • pes·ter·some, adjective
  • un·pes·tered, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pester in a sentence

  • He just pesters folks into taking proper care of themselves.

    The Clarion | Samuel Hopkins Adams
  • The surface glimmer which so pesters the eye was here in a great measure removed.

  • He attaches himself to many journals, the editors of which he first pesters, afterwards serves, and always despises.

  • The surface-glimmer, which so pesters the eye, was here in a great measure removed.

  • She is as proud as Lucifer—she likes being treated like a lady—and she pesters me every autumn to go to St. Crux.

    No Name | Wilkie Collins

British Dictionary definitions for pester

pester

/ (ˈpɛstə) /


verb
  1. (tr) to annoy or nag continually

Origin of pester

1
C16: from Old French empestrer to hobble (a horse), from Vulgar Latin impāstōriāre (unattested) to use a hobble, from pāstōria (unattested) a hobble, from Latin pāstōrius relating to a herdsman, from pastor herdsman

Derived forms of pester

  • pesterer, noun
  • pesteringly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012