To badger someone means to pester them repeatedly with questions, requests, or complaints until they give in or lose patience. When you badger someone, you keep asking for the same thing over and over, even after they've already said no or asked you to stop.

Imagine a younger sibling who wants to play video games but keeps getting told “not now.” If they ask every five minutes, follow you around the house pleading, and won't take no for an answer, they're badgering you. Or picture a salesperson who calls week after week trying to sell something you've already said you don't want. That persistent, annoying pressure is badgering.

While persistence can be good, badgering crosses a line. There's a difference between asking twice and asking twenty times, especially when someone has clearly asked you to stop.