Dictionary.com

pester

[ pes-ter ]
/ ˈpɛs tər /
See synonyms for: pester / pestered / pestering / pesterer on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble: Don't pester me with your trivial problems.
Obsolete. to overcrowd.

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Origin of pester

1530–40; perhaps aphetic variant of empester,impester to tangle, encumber (though pester is found earlier than these 2 words) <Middle French empestrer to hobble, entangle <Vulgar Latin *impāstōriāre to hobble, equivalent to im-im-1 + pāstōri(a) a hobble, noun use of Latin pāstōrius of a herdsman or shepherd + -āre infinitive suffix (see pastor); aphetic form apparently reinforced by pest (cf. -er6)

OTHER WORDS FROM pester

pes·ter·er, nounpes·ter·ing·ly, adverbpes·ter·some, adjectiveun·pes·tered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to pester

bedevil, annoy, nag, tease, hector, irk, torment, hassle, hound, badger, disturb, nudge, beleaguer, ride, tantalize, dog, insist, remind, plague, importune

Example sentences from the Web for pester

British Dictionary definitions for pester

pester
/ (ˈpɛstə) /

verb

(tr) to annoy or nag continually

Derived forms of pester

pesterer, nounpesteringly, adverb

Word Origin for pester

C16: from Old French empestrer to hobble (a horse), from Vulgar Latin impāstōriāre (unattested) to use a hobble, from pāstōria (unattested) a hobble, from Latin pāstōrius relating to a herdsman, from pastor herdsman
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012