What it means
To nag is to keep on at someone with the same reminder or complaint until they finally cave, lose it, or just do the thing for a quiet life. It’s rarely one big row, more a steady drip of comments about chores, promises, or obvious jobs getting ignored. You can also call the person doing it a nag, if you’re feeling brave.
Usage examples
"Mum keeps nagging me to fix the fence. Told her I’ll do it Saturday, and she goes, You’ve been saying that since Christmas, lad."
"My wife has been nagging me about the leaky tap in the bathroom for three weeks, I keep saying tomorrow, and now the ceiling downstairs has a damp patch the size of a dinner plate, and the plumber wants double the original quote."
"The boss nags about the timesheets every Friday afternoon, sends three reminders before lunch, and yet half the office still hands them in at five past five on a Monday morning when she has already started chasing again from her desk."
Where it comes from
From the Middle English nagge, a small horse used for short, repeated journeys, which gave the verb its sense of persistent small-scale pestering. The agricultural image survived into urban English by way of mothers, partners and supervisors, all reminding the recipient of the same task at five-minute intervals throughout the working day until the chore finally gets done.
Other ways to say it
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