badger
/ˈbadʒə
/noun
A heavily built omnivorous nocturnal mammal of the weasel family, typically having a grey and black coat.
- Several genera and species in the family Mustelidae, in particular the Eurasian Meles meles, which has a white head with two black stripes, and the North American Taxidea taxus, with a white stripe on the head.
- Both animals are related species and are members of the Mustelid family, which also includes mink, badgers and weasels.
- A badger's coat looks grey, but the individual hairs are black and white.
verb [with object]
Repeatedly and annoyingly ask (someone) to do something: journalists badgered him about the deals Tom had finally badgered her into going...
- Is the News of the World suggesting that the BBC should have released his name sooner so that other journalists could start badgering him earlier over the affair?
- The friend that's always badgering you about why you're upset, the brother that wants an account of every boy his sister hangs out with.
- Every Friday, the Boy tried to start his homework right when he got back, since the Twin always badgered him to, but it never worked.
Synonyms
pester, harass, bother, plague, torment, hound, nag, chivvy, harry, keep on at, go on at, harp on at, keep after, importune, annoy, trouble;
Northern English mither
informal hassle, bug
Australian informal heavy
Origin
Early 16th century: perhaps from badge, with reference to its distinctive head markings. The verb sense (late 18th century) originates from the sport of badger-baiting.
Badger is probably based on badge (a LME word of unknown origin), with reference to the animal's distinctive facial markings. Use as a verb arose in the late 18th century and reflects the popularity at that time of badger-baiting, a pastime where badgers were drawn from their setts by dogs and killed for sport (illegal in the UK since 1830). The alternative name brock is a use of the Old English word for badger, one of the few words the Anglo-Saxons adopted from Celtic.