badger

/ˈbædʒər/

/ˈbædʒə/

Other forms: badgered; badgering; badgers

Badger is to bother. Persistently. On and on. Without stop. Relentlessly. Over and over. Endlessly. It comes from the name of that chipmunk-like animal that burrows into the ground.

If you badger someone, you get under their skin. A badger is an animal that digs tunnels under ground to keep warm. To badger can also mean to persuade someone through constant annoying efforts. You might badger your mom to add another hour to your curfew or badger your friend to give you a turn with a video game he has been hogging.

Definitions of badger

1. noun

   sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal with strong claws; widely distributed in the northern hemisphere
   types:

   American badger, Taxidea taxus

   a variety of badger native to America

   Eurasian badger, Meles meles

   a variety of badger native to Europe and Asia

   ferret badger

   small ferret-like badger of southeast Asia

   Arctonyx collaris, hog badger, hog-nosed badger, sand badger

   southeast Asian badger with a snout like a pig

   type of:

   mustelid, musteline, musteline mammal

   fissiped fur-bearing carnivorous mammals
2. verb

   annoy persistently
   synonyms: beleaguer, bug, pester, tease

   type of:

   bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag, torment

   treat cruelly
3. verb

   persuade through constant efforts
   type of:

   persuade

   cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm