nag
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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nags,
present (3rd person singular)
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nagged,
past participle, past
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nagging
present participle
verb (used without object)
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nags,
present (3rd person singular)
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nagged,
past participle, past
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nagging
present participle
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to find fault or complain in an irritating, wearisome, or relentless manner (often followed byat ).
If they start nagging at each other, I'm going home.
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to cause pain, discomfort, distress, depression, etc. (often followed byat ).
This headache has been nagging at me all day.
noun
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Also a person who nags, especially habitually.
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an act or instance of nagging.
His constant nagging finally got the best of me and I lost my temper.
noun
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an old, inferior, or worthless horse.
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Slang. any horse, especially a racehorse.
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a small riding horse or pony.
verb
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to scold or annoy constantly
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to be a constant source of discomfort or worry (to)
toothache nagged him all day
noun
noun
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derogatory a horse
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a small riding horse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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nagsimple
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nagssimple
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have naggedperfect
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has naggedperfect
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am naggingprogressive
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are naggingprogressive
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is naggingprogressive
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have been naggingperfect progressive
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has been naggingperfect progressive
Past
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naggedsimple
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had naggedperfect
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was naggingprogressive
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were naggingprogressive
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had been naggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nag1
First recorded in 1820–30; from Old Norse nagga “to rub, grumble, quarrel”; akin to Middle Low German naggen “to irritate”; see gnaw
Origin of nag2
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English nag(ge); connected with Dutch neg(ge) “small horse,” of obscure origin; said to be akin to neigh
Explanation
When you ask for something over and over AND over again, you are nagging. If you nag your parents long enough, they'll either give in and get you a puppy, or simply refuse any pets at all — not even a goldfish. When you nag someone, you complain and pester them. Your teacher might nag you about a late assignment, or you might nag your friend to give you back the sweater he borrowed. A thought or worry can also nag you, simply by staying in your thoughts. The word nag meant "gnaw" before the 1820s, from a Scandinavian root.
Vocabulary lists containing nag
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 3
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Popcorn
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I Survived the Great Chicago Fire, 1871
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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:
I don’t want to nag, but neither do I want to be a doormat.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
They'll leave with brilliant memories of days and nights together, of wins on the road that bonded them, of a series won, but Saturday will nag away at them forever.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025
A few doubts nag him, such as: what are he and his team accomplishing by sorting random numbers?
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
He also this week said "Yeah" in response to an X message that "No steering wheel nag will be a *game changer* for FSD user satisfaction."
From Reuters ● Aug. 29, 2023
All I needed was to keep my part of the deal and get free of Bodega and free of my own conscience, which would nag me and call me names if I backed out.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
These portrayals were part of an even longer history of depicting wives as nags and harridans, a narrative device that can be found in the Old Testament.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2026
They tend to start quietly—an elbow that aches after the range, a shoulder that nags during the backswing, a wrist that feels tired late in the round.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
Still, it nags, especially given Alvarez’s commitment elsewhere to grungy practical sets and props.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024
And every time HBO Max yanks another movie or TV show I love from the platform, a thought nags at me: Chris was right.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2023
This is another thing that little voice nags me about.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
As summer enters its final laps, at last I have the answer to a question that has nagged at me for more than half a century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
And when I returned in the fall of 2023 to watch Pretzel again, the feeling nagged at me that maybe I could.
From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2025
But the question of what exactly the brief exchange was all about nagged at me for the rest of the day.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2024
Carroll said Friday one thing that could help is second-year running back Kenneth Walker III having finally gotten past a shoulder injury that has nagged him the past few weeks.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 6, 2024
Wished I hadn't nagged Mum to take me to Chariots of Fire.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Another nagging issue is that the company didn’t share much on its plans to return cash to shareholders when its Chips Act-related restrictions lift in December, Naji noted.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
He moved through his late teen years with a nagging sense he was different from others.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
"She got stuck into gritty, controversial, but crucial causes partly because she had a fine, natural social conscience, but also to assuage nagging feelings of worthlessness."
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The Fed’s preferred inflation metric held steady at 3.7% in July, a reminder of the nagging problem facing Warsh as he prepares for his Friday speech at Jackson Hole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
A nagging thought: What time does the bus leave here?
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
