badger
Americannoun
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badgers
plural
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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)
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badgers,
present (3rd person singular)
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badgered,
past participle, past
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badgering
present participle
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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badgersimple
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badgerssimple
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have badgeredperfect
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has badgeredperfect
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am badgeringprogressive
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are badgeringprogressive
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is badgeringprogressive
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have been badgeringperfect progressive
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has been badgeringperfect progressive
Past
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badgeredsimple
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had badgeredperfect
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was badgeringprogressive
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were badgeringprogressive
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had been badgeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of badger
1515–25; variant of badgeard, perhaps badge + -ard, in allusion to white mark or badge on head
Explanation
Badger is to bother. Persistently. On and on. Without stop. Relentlessly. Over and over. Endlessly. It comes from the name of that chipmunk-like animal that burrows into the ground. If you badger someone, you get under their skin. A badger is an animal that digs tunnels under ground to keep warm. To badger can also mean to persuade someone through constant annoying efforts. You might badger your mom to add another hour to your curfew or badger your friend to give you a turn with a video game he has been hogging.
Vocabulary lists containing badger
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
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The Cay
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Amazing Animals, A-Z
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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:
Tejon means “badger” in Spanish, and all it took was some Spaniard on an 1806 expedition happening upon a dead badger there for the name to stick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
When asked how she would feel if he were replaced by a badger, she said: "Well, lucky badger or lucky grandpapa", adding that a suitable substitute should be a very brave and courageous animal.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
"He deserves better than being replaced by a badger," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
The Government last month said it will not be extending the badger cull and retains its commitment to end the practice before the next election.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2025
“I mean, really? Autumn all the time?” the badger continued, gazing around at the crisp canopy.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The lakes region Mr. Hoffman describes as “magnetic and mercurial” is home to bears, wolves, badgers, otters and a surprising variety of other creatures, yet their ways of life are being threatened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Wildlife intervention involves actions to tackle the maintenance and spread of bTB in badgers, which are implicated in the spread of the disease.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
The land abutting the Pinto Mountains Wilderness is also home to badgers, bighorn sheep and Mojave fringe-toed lizards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
Possibilities, subject to a public consultation, include badgers and otters as well as frogs, hedgehogs, barn owls and newts.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
Fu Inlé, Prince Rainbow returned with the elil—two badgers, two foxes, two stoats, an owl and a cat.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
Later headlines would say that Solanas believed Warhol “controlled her life” and that he had “legal claim” over her self-published writing, which she frequently badgered him to read.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
Although she performed as a hostess in Washington—she preferred it greatly to Albany—she badgered Seward almost constantly to give up politics and settle for a quiet life lawyering in Auburn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
He didn't sing the song live until December 2014 after his crew badgered him to do it.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
For months, Meta’s algorithm badgered me to buy a little piece of plastic mounted on a magnet.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025
As the principal and others badgered Laura Friendly with questions, Benji made his way to the podium.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
Costco raised its fees in 2024 — the first such increase in seven years — after months of badgering from Wall Street.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
She added: "Your constant pestering, badgering and, eventually, attendance at their home address on a dark evening in December was unwarranted."
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025
And then there are the bit players they run into throughout who, in Mr. Panahi’s acidic vision of a desperate society, tend to end interactions by badgering for a tip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
“The jury sees this, and it ends up risking looking like you’re just badgering this woman,” Haberman said.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
This badgering soul who’d thrown his entire existence into upheaval?
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
