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:
And the red at-home nail lacquer, released by Revlon in the early 1930s, was a badge of honour for modern women rebelling against that kind of oppressive judgement.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
A Stormtrooper drove by on a flatbed truck, shortly before R2-D2 greeted visitors in the courtyard, wearing an official staff badge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
Many users submit government identification to their LinkedIn profiles and receive a “verified” badge, a sign of authenticity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Klein similarly reported that her credential had been deactivated, while Politico said Haslett’s badge was confiscated.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
The elf blushed, kneeling to pick up his wallet and badge.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The administration also confirmed in a court filing that it had reinstated the suspended reporters’ badges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Both CNN and Politico also said Saturday morning that their reporters were denied access and had their badges seized.
From BBC ● 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
Nuclear workers carry dosimeters, badges that keep track of how much radiation they have encountered over time.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Marketers will also be watching for whether LLMs will preclude paid-for social media endorsements that are badged with #ad or similar disclosures in their results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
These kids are provided with club tracksuits and jackets, all badged up, and are recognised by friends and family as being part of that club.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
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
Musk himself sneered at the concept in a tweet on Tuesday, describing the current division between the badged and unbadged as a “lords and peasants system.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 3, 2022
The streets are full of Huguenots badged as Catholics.
From The Path of the King by John Buchan
Ford came on board as a partner early on, and this is much more than simply a badging deal in return for finance/sponsorship money.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Employees are still coffee badging, the practice of swiping into the office and sticking around long enough to have a cup of coffee before heading out to finish the workday at home or elsewhere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
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
For the upcoming talks in Dubai, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which organizes COPs, has changed its badging process to be more transparent.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
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
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.
