pester
Plural: pesters
Verb
Verb Forms: pestered, pestering, pesters
- To annoy or bother someone with frequent interruptions.
- annoy persistently
- To bother, harass, or annoy persistently.
- To crowd together thickly.
Noun
- A bother or nuisance.
Examples
- He pestered me with questions.
- His opponent would PESTER him with small, annoying words that blocked his strategy.
- She pestered him to help her.
Origin / Etymology
In the senses of “overcrowd (a place)” and “impede (a person)”: from Middle French and Old French empestrer (“encumber”), influenced by English pest. The modern sense is an extension of the sense “infest”. Comparable to English construction pest + -er (used to form frequentative verbs).
Synonyms
badger, beleaguer, bug, tease, bait, bedevil, beset, cattle up, chevy, crowd, flock, give someone grief, harass, harry, hound, huddle, persecute, pester, pick at, plague, throng, vex
Antonyms
get out of someone's ear, get out of someone's face, get up off, give someone a break, lay off, leave alone, let alone, tolerate
Scrabble Score: 8
pester: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordpester: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
pester: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary