badge
Americannoun
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badges
plural
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a special or distinctive mark, token, or device worn as a sign of allegiance, membership, authority, achievement, etc..
a police badge;
a merit badge.
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any emblem, token, or distinctive mark.
He thinks rich people buy art mainly as a badge of their sophistication and success.
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a card bearing identifying information, as one's name, symbol or place of employment, or academic affiliation, and often worn pinned to one's clothing.
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Digital Technology. digital badge.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a distinguishing emblem or mark worn to signify membership, employment, achievement, etc
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any revealing feature or mark
Usage
What does badge mean? A badge is a small object or card used to identify oneself in an official way. Most commonly, badge refers to the small metal medallion worn or carried by police officers or other law enforcement members. They’re often shaped like shields or stars. Badge also commonly refers to the official identification card of a worker, especially one that’s pinned to their clothing or worn on a lanyard or cord around their neck. Such badges are often used for security purposes—having a badge allows a worker to enter the building or access certain parts of it. Example: You pull another stunt like that and I’ll have you turn in your badge, Officer Hotshot!
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of badge
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English baggys (plural); akin to Anglo-French bage “badge, emblem”; further origin unknown
Explanation
Police officers wear a badge — a shiny piece of metal that lets you know they're cops. Badges can also be metaphors — for example, a scar could considered be a badge of honor. Police officers are the best-known badge-wearers, but lots of employees — especially federal employees — have to wear some kind of badge to work. The badge lets other people know who you are and what you do. Other kinds of badges are not so official. If a football player broke his leg during a big game, the cast could be called a "badge of honor," because of his playing and his toughness. All badges let others know who you are and why you're important.
Vocabulary lists containing badge
"Glencoe Accounting: Real-World Applications & Connections," Vocabulary from Chapter 12
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English Language Development Texts, Unit 2
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Girl Scouts Lingo
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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:
In exchange, they would also have to badge in and out of their air-traffic facilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The badge, which was once an intrinsic part of Swinging Sixties British cool, had lost its lustre.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
TBD’s work is closely guarded, the area where they sit required special badge access for entry and the names of its members, which now number roughly 200, aren’t visible on the company’s internal organizational chart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The samples appear genuine and include names, addresses, phone numbers, badge numbers, job titles and information about spouses.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
He puts a finger to my badge and says, “Demoted!”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Both CNN and Politico also said Saturday morning that their reporters were denied access and had their badges seized.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The reporter said she and a photographer from the news outlet both had their badges taken away from them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
For performances I would put little chains on my gown and wear bedazzled badges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
A self-described “workaholic,” Cook famously wakes up at 4 a.m. to read customer and employee emails, then hits the gym and badges into Apple Park when he’s not traveling for diplomatic meetings or supply-chain audits.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
All were released pending an investigation, but we learned the next day that Sing Sing had demanded their badges.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Given the geopolitical terrain, North American buyers may see their first solid-state BEVs badged as Toyotas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
While he said he would not want "badged" British Army soldiers there, he could support their presence as part of a UN peacekeeping force.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025
As for the "verified" dead, a few users have pointed out that some were badged anew without the consent of their estates or loved ones.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2023
Perry Cooper, media relations manager at Sea-Tac, said the number of badged employees at the airport went from 25,000 before the pandemic to around 17,500 mid-pandemic.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2021
Banded somehow he must be, then badged, beribboned, bannered, and bye-lawed.
From Marm Lisa by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
PS: The Nightshade suffix refers to an exterior trim grade that bundles together the blacked-out grille, badging, 20-inch wheels, mirror caps, door handles, roof pillars and lower rear bumper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
High-quality photos may encourage viewers to picture themselves living in a property, while the use of badging listings with terms like "Highlight" or "Just added" fuels the fear of missing out.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2024
Netflix employees were badging out of the Icon, the streaming giant’s cantilevered glass tower.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2022
“We can watch things like badging data, and it continues to go up for us,” says Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of modern work, who advises CEO Satya Nadella on hybrid work strategy.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2022
It has been getting skilled men back from the trenches, and advising the Ministry as to the "badging" of munition workers.
From The War on All Fronts: England's Effort Letters to an American Friend by Joseph Hodges Choate
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
