Definition

1. Verb:
   • To annoy or bother someone repeatedly and persistently, often with minor requests, complaints, or interruptions.

Usage

The verb "pester" describes the action of irritating someone through continual, often nagging, attention. It implies a sense of persistence from the person doing the annoying. It is typically used in contexts where one person is bothering another, often in a way that is difficult to ignore or stop.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The child would not stop pestering his mother for a new toy.
  • Reporters pestered the celebrity with questions about her personal life.
  • Please don't pester me while I'm trying to work.

Advanced Usage

• "to pester someone for something": To repeatedly ask or bother someone in order to get something.
  • He pestered his boss for a raise every week.
• "to pester someone with something": To repeatedly bother someone by presenting them with something (like questions or requests).
  • She pestered the committee with her suggestions.

Variants and Related Words

• Pestering (noun/adj): The act of pestering, or something that is persistently annoying.
  • The constant pestering finally made him give in.
• Pesterer (noun): A person who pesters.
  • He was known as a relentless pesterer.

Synonyms

• Badger: To pester someone persistently.
• Nag: To annoy by constant fault-finding or demands.
• Hound: To pursue or harass relentlessly.
• Harass: To subject to aggressive pressure or intimidation.

Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Pester" is not commonly used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. The action is typically expressed directly, e.g., "pester someone.")

Related Idioms

• "To be a pest": To be an annoying or bothersome person. (This idiom uses the related noun "pest," from which "pester" is derived).
  • Stop being such a pest and let me concentrate.

Verb

1. annoy persistently
   • The children teased the boy because of his stammer