nag
1to annoy by persistent faultfinding, complaints, or demands.
to keep in a state of troubled awareness or anxiety, as a recurrent pain or problem: She had certain misgivings that nagged her.
to find fault or complain in an irritating, wearisome, or relentless manner (often followed by at): If they start nagging at each other, I'm going home.
to cause pain, discomfort, distress, depression, etc. (often followed by at): This headache has been nagging at me all day.
Also nagger . 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.
Origin of nag
1Other words for nag
Other words from nag
- un·nagged, adjective
Other definitions for nag (2 of 2)
an old, inferior, or worthless horse.
Slang. any horse, especially a racehorse.
a small riding horse or pony.
Origin of nag
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use nag in a sentence
When we'd finished, one of the hunters rounded up the horses and we caught our nags and saddled them.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairIn a kibitka covered with bast, drawn by three lean and sleepy nags, Raisky drove slowly to his estate.
The Precipice | Ivan GoncharovFor a modest sum the driver agreed to take the young woman and her child, and headed his nags toward Paris.
Brother Jacques (Novels of Paul de Kock, Volume XVII) | Charles Paul de KockOn the way back, we met several women and girls on nags, and I was pained to see that my boys did not remove their hats.
Mothering on Perilous | Lucy S. FurmanUncle Eben drew up beside a rickety wagon drawn by two sorry nags who just now were engaged in cropping grass from the roadside.
Mary Louise in the Country | L. Frank Baum (AKA Edith Van Dyne)
British Dictionary definitions for nag (1 of 2)
/ (næɡ) /
to scold or annoy constantly
(when intr, often foll by at) to be a constant source of discomfort or worry (to): toothache nagged him all day
a person, esp a woman, who nags
Origin of nag
1Derived forms of nag
- nagger, noun
- naggingly, adverb
British Dictionary definitions for nag (2 of 2)
/ (næɡ) /
often derogatory a horse
a small riding horse
Origin of nag
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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