nag
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Slang. any horse, especially a racehorse.
-
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
-
derogatory a horse
-
a small riding horse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
nagsimple
-
nagssimple
-
have naggedperfect
-
has naggedperfect
-
am naggingprogressive
-
are naggingprogressive
-
is naggingprogressive
-
have been naggingperfect progressive
-
has been naggingperfect progressive
Past
-
naggedsimple
-
had naggedperfect
-
was naggingprogressive
-
were naggingprogressive
-
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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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.
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
Still, in the weeks and months following the decoder experiments, the unsettling implications of the device began to nag at him.
From Salon • Jan. 18, 2024
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
Then they’d all laugh over how Mom couldn’t nag him anymore about replacing it.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
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.
