badger

Noun · Verb
US[baj-er]/ˈbædʒɚ/2 syllables

Open English WordNet

Verb (2)badgers, badgered, badgering

  1. annoy persistently“The children teased the boy because of his stammer”Synonyms: teasepesterbugbeleaguerMore general torment, rag
  2. persuade through constant effortsMore general persuade

Noun (2)badgers

  1. a native or resident of WisconsinSynonyms: WisconsiniteType of American
  2. sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal with strong claws; widely distributed in the Northern HemisphereType of musteline mammal, mustelidKinds hog badger, Eurasian badger, ferret badger, American badger
Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Badg′er (…), noun

Origin: Of uncertain origin; perh. fr. an old verb badge to lay up provisions to sell again.

An itinerant licensed dealer in commodities used for food; a hawker; a huckster; — formerly applied especially to one who bought grain in one place and sold it in another. Now dialectic, Eng.


Badg′er noun

Origin: OE. bageard, prob. fr. badge + -ard, in reference to the white mark on its forehead. See Badge,noun

1. A carnivorous quadruped of the genus Meles or of an allied genus. It is a burrowing animal, with short, thick legs, and long claws on the fore feet. One species (Meles meles or Meles vulgaris), called also brock, inhabits the north of Europe and Asia; another species (Taxidea taxus or Taxidea Americana or Taxidea Labradorica) inhabits the northern parts of North America. See Teledu.

2. A brush made of badgers' hair, used by artists.

Badger dog. Zoology See Dachshund.


Badg′er transitive verb [past tense & past participle Badgered (…); present participle & verbal noun Badgering.]

Origin: For sense 1, see 2d Badger; for 2, see 1st Badger.

1. To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or irritate persistently.

2. To beat down; to cheapen; to barter; to bargain.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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