nag
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
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
-
an old, inferior, or worthless horse.
-
Slang. any horse, especially a racehorse.
-
a small riding horse or pony.
verb
-
to scold or annoy constantly
-
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.
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
Or as Lerner put it in a 2010 interview with NPR: “How do you make moderation sexy, fun and doable without being a nag or a nanny?”
From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2023
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
I think back to all the times I’ve heard Grandma nag at him about his blood pressure and not eating too much salt.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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
What nags at me even now — in fact, it haunts me in some way — is the knowledge that there were real people behind those toxic accounts.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2023
And that lie, the one about his friends the night of Neumos, it nags at her.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
The burden had lifted, never again would we be able to ask the questions that had nagged him for more than a decade.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2025
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
Murray, who was nagged by a strained left calf during the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, has been bothered by right elbow pain in the past.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024
These arguably hairsplitting thoughts nagged at me thanks to my job as a congressional correspondent focused on federal spending.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
I’ve nagged about visitation and mail until they all know my face and don’t want to see it.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates Wednesday in what appeared to be a tentative move by policy makers to combat nagging inflation pressures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
It said that, in many cases, this was done through "prolonged nagging and with unpleasant and condescending language".
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Looking ahead: Powell, in his final press conference, admitted inflation is still a nagging problem five years after it spiked, but he said he sees no signs the economy is sputtering.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
Although he was entering his 12th NBA season and coming off nagging injuries, the Lakers still saw Smart as an important addition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
But something else was still nagging at me.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
