nag
verb/næɡ/
/næɡ/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they nag | /næɡ/ /næɡ/ |
| he / she / it nags | /næɡz/ /næɡz/ |
| past simple nagged | /næɡd/ /næɡd/ |
| past participle nagged | /næɡd/ /næɡd/ |
| -ing form nagging | /ˈnæɡɪŋ/ /ˈnæɡɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to keep complaining to somebody about their behaviour or keep asking them to do something synonym pester
- Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can.
- nag at somebody You're always nagging at me.
- nag somebody (to do something) She keeps nagging me to paint the fence.
- nag on about something I do wish you'd stop nagging on about the garden.
- nag (away) at somebody (to do something) For weeks his father had been nagging away at him to get a job.
- nag somebody about something Mum's always nagging me about studying.
Extra Examples- She had been nagging at him to have his hair cut.
- The children kept nagging her to take them to the zoo.
- He nagged me until I wrote the letter and posted it off.
- [intransitive, transitive] to worry you or cause you pain continuously
- nag at somebody A feeling of unease nagged at her.
- nag somebody Doubts nagged me all evening.
- The pain came back and nagged at him.
More Like This Consonant-doubling verbsConsonant-doubling verbs
Word Originverb early 19th cent. (originally dialect in the sense ‘gnaw’): perhaps of Scandinavian or Low German origin; compare with Norwegian and Swedish nagga ‘gnaw, irritate’ and Low German (g)naggen ‘provoke’.
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nag