badge
Americannoun
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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:
“Merciless” was one of his favorite words, and it soon became a badge of honor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
As well as financial reparations, veterans can also apply for restoration of rank, the return of berets and medals, and an "Etherton Ribbon" - a badge which recognises those who served under the ban.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
After much criticism, Spotify has launched a new certification badge, “Verified by Spotify.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Fishing for my press badge, I spotted a trio of anti-Trump protesters holding handmade signs outside an entrance to the House of Representatives.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
The everyday practice of boiling, scrubbing, buffing and wiping became the badge of the students’ professional pride, to which all personal comfort must be sacrificed.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
In April, in the Target parking lot, Walker said three federal immigration agents, wearing badges, exited their vehicles and approached her car on foot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, for example, temporarily removed badges declaring certain cars “Good Price” or “Great Price.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
The mutual distrust was underscored when US officials made staffers and media, including an AFP reporter, boarding Air Force One hand over all badges and pins given to them by the Chinese side.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
The two women had dressed up and worn badges about the royals for the occasion.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Dalton Conley refers to these less tangible badges of status as “positional goods.”
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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
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 shadow minister Andy McDonald and deputy leader Angela Rayner have been constructing what is being badged as a "new deal for working people".
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2021
Public servants we are, badged and numbered, bound to do work by fixed rule and charge, so what I say is that you should treat us accordingly.
From Christmas Penny Readings Original Sketches for the Season by Fenn, George Manville
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
A badging factory which was creating fake designer logos to fix on unbranded clothing has been raided by police.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2023
In August, he announced more than 1,100 schools were being awarded $47 million of that money for upgrades such as security cameras, automatic door locks, visitor badging systems and exterior lighting.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2022
Lincoln’s badging, which appears similar to the automaker’s Star concept announced earlier this year, appears as an illuminated display on the front of the vehicle.
From The Verge ● Aug. 22, 2022
The "badging" of beggars was a favourite scheme of Swift's for the better regulation of the many who infested the city of Dublin as tramps and idlers.
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. - Volume 07 Historical and Political Tracts-Irish by Scott, Temple
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.
