pester
verb /ˈpestə(r)/
/ˈpestər/
[transitive, intransitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they pester | /ˈpestə(r)/ /ˈpestər/ |
| he / she / it pesters | /ˈpestəz/ /ˈpestərz/ |
| past simple pestered | /ˈpestəd/ /ˈpestərd/ |
| past participle pestered | /ˈpestəd/ /ˈpestərd/ |
| -ing form pestering | /ˈpestərɪŋ/ /ˈpestərɪŋ/ |
- to annoy somebody, especially by asking them something many times synonym badger
- pester somebody for something Journalists pestered neighbours for information.
- pester somebody with something He has been pestering her with phone calls for over a week.
- pester somebody/something The horses were continually pestered by flies.
- pester (somebody to do something) The kids kept pestering me to read to them.
Extra Examples- They kept pestering him for his autograph.
- I knew he would keep pestering until he got an answer.
- She would pester him until she got exactly what she wanted.
- Stop pestering!
- The kids kept pestering me to buy them ice creams.
Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the senses ‘overcrowd (a place)’ and ‘impede (a person)’): from French empestrer ‘encumber’, influenced by pest. The current sense is an extension of an earlier use, ‘infest’, referring to vermin.