Standard Lemma guide

pester

noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈpɛstə(ɹ)/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈpɛstɚ/
  • US: [ˈphɛstɚ]
  • rhymes with -ɛstə(ɹ)
  • CMU ARPABET: P EH1 S T ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A bother or nuisance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To bother, harass, or annoy persistently.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • He pestered me with questions.
  • She pestered him to help her.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: badger, beleaguer, bug, hound, plague

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To crowd together thickly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive, obsolete, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cattle up, crowd, flock, huddle, throng

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

annoy persistently

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The children teased the boy because of his stammer

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tease, badger, bug, beleaguer

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: torment, rag, bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate

History

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).

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bengali: সাতানো (satano) — to annoy persistently
  • Bulgarian: досаждам (dosaždam) — to annoy persistently
  • Bulgarian: тормозя (tormozja) — to annoy persistently
  • Czech: obtěžovat — to annoy persistently
  • Czech: otravovat — to annoy persistently
  • Czech: dotírat — to annoy persistently
  • Dutch: pesten — to annoy persistently
  • Finnish: kiusata — to annoy persistently
  • Galician: abouxar — to annoy persistently
  • Galician: amocar — to annoy persistently
  • German: belästigen — to annoy persistently
  • German: behelligen — to annoy persistently
  • Ingrian: tarttua — to annoy persistently
  • Japanese: 悩ます (nayamasu) — to annoy persistently
  • Japanese: せがむ (segamu) — to annoy persistently
  • Macedonian: до́саѓа (dósaǵa) — to annoy persistently
  • Macedonian: гњави (gnjavi) — to annoy persistently
  • Māori: pāengaenga — to annoy persistently
  • Māori: whakapōrearea — to annoy persistently
  • Māori: whakakūrakuraku — to annoy persistently
  • Māori: whakatīwheta — to annoy persistently
  • Portuguese: atazanar — to annoy persistently
  • Russian: досажда́ть (dosaždátʹ) — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: atosigar — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: molestar — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: dar la tabarra — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: jorobar — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: importunar — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: fastidiar — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: incomodar — to annoy persistently
  • Spanish: incordiar — to annoy persistently
  • Swedish: plåga — to annoy persistently
  • Swedish: ofreda — to annoy persistently
  • Tagalog: galitin — to annoy persistently