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:
"You can definitely see badger activity and we know that they are carriers, badger numbers should be monitored and see how that the effects of that in the spread."
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
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
Asked whether Wales could see badger culling in future in response to bovine TB he said he agreed with Wales' TB Programme Board that the disease should be addressed "in wildlife" as well as livestock.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
"He deserves better than being replaced by a badger," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
A tall shadow loomed over the badger, but it was just that: a play of light without weight or bulk.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
I took a mat next to the American black bears and American badgers, only slightly jealous that the mats next to the large-scale walrus diorama were taken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
"They blame badgers, but there are other elements that I'm sure will cause and contribute. I don't think there's enough traceability."
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 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
“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.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Of forest lore he had studied deeply, and Taran listened in wonder as Adaon told the ways and natures of woodland creatures, of bold badgers and cautious dormice and geese winging under the moon.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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
When Stolz was just 11 years old in Wisconsin, he badgered his then-coach, Jeff Brand, into letting him tag along in an “ice marathon” workout—100 laps and 40,000 meters, or just shy of 25 miles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
For months, Meta’s algorithm badgered me to buy a little piece of plastic mounted on a magnet.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2025
Nigel Roebuck, who has led Aslef's negotiations with LNER, said members had complained about being consistently "badgered for favours" by managers "outside of rostering agreements and being contacted remotely".
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2024
In English class, everyone badgered Mr. Birk-way to finish reading the journal entry that he had begun yesterday, the one about Mrs. Corpse and the body, but Mr. Birkway did not read any more journals.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
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
Those of ancient lineage may be thinking of the infamous LBJ phone call badgering the head of ABC to get college-football broadcasts for Lady Bird’s TV station.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 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
During the trial, throughout which Heard was subject to badgering online, Heard expressed her desire to forgo the “torture” of the ongoing litigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
He knew this was not true, but he could not help badgering Rab, trying to make him say, ‘I’ll miss you as much as you’ll miss me.’
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
