From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbadgerbad‧ger1 /ˈbædʒə $ -ər/ noun [countable] HBAan animal that has black and white fur, lives in holes in the ground, and is active at night
Examples from the Corpus
badger• Badger victory Wildlife campaigners are celebrating after winning an 18 year fight to protect badgers from badger baiting.• Much more tricky than knowing if you've found a badger sett, is knowing whether or not it is still active.• Together these add up to good badger country.• Every day more and more badgers are being tortured and slaughtered.• But some patients, especially the badgers can be awkward.• A dreadful cross for the badger to bear.• It was through him that Mr Jackson became hooked on watching the badgers in their natural habitat.badgerbadger2 verb [transitive] PERSUADEto try to persuade someone by asking them something several times SYN pester She badgered me for weeks until I finally gave in.badger somebody to do something My friends keep badgering me to get a cell phone.badger somebody into doing something I had to badger the kids into doing their homework.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
badger• I remember watching a whole flock of female phalaropes badgering a poor male so intensely he almost drowned.• The diva badgers and belittles her Juilliard students, all in the name of perfection.• Did you notice when you were badgering her how she got interested in remembering Pempie and then could leave the room?• She had badgered her parents into letting her join the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service after her eighteenth birthday.• He would badger him about anything, often hitting him on the least pretext.• When I badgered people, they had to admit that yes, I did look a bit like Eric Cantona.• Terry kept badgering the guards for magazines and a radio.• Often the result of one partner badgering the other into making a bit of a show.Origin badger1 (1500-1600) Probably from badge; because of the white marks on its head