badger
Americannoun
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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)
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
- unbadgered adjective
- unbadgering adjective
Etymology
Origin of badger
1515–25; variant of badgeard, perhaps badge + -ard, in allusion to white mark or badge on head
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.
“We’ve planted 20,000 trees around the site, we’ve replaced habitats and homes for protected species like bats, newts and badgers and created wildflower meadows specifically for wildlife foraging,” the company said.
The best I can describe it is that my brain is a trapped badger, and all it’s doing is reacting.
From Literature
“In the wilderness, with the bugs and the badgers and those hungry, hungry wolves!”
From Literature
She added: "Your constant pestering, badgering and, eventually, attendance at their home address on a dark evening in December was unwarranted."
From BBC
Her Bertha is the kindly, nurturing counterweight to Seth’s badgering boisterousness, a quality Morris infuses with just enough avuncular affection.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions 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.
