badge

USBAJ/bæd͡ʒ/

Pluralbadges

Verbbadges, badging, badged

13 meanings of badge

Practice

1
nouncountable
A small sign worn on clothing to show your group, job, or rank.
Like a sticker that shows which team you are on.
The scout sewed a new badge onto her uniform.
Members wear a small badge to show they belong to the club.
Similaremblem, insignia, pin, crest
Note
2
nouncountable
A small nameplate worn on clothes that shows a person's name and sometimes their job.
Like a name tag you wear at a party.
Every nurse wears a badge with her name on it.
He clipped his badge to his shirt before the meeting.
Similarnametag, tag
3
nouncountable
A card that lets you into a place, often by tapping or scanning it.
Like a key, but flat like a card you scan.
She tapped her badge to open the office door.
You need a badge to get into the lab.
Similarpass, keycard
4
nouncountable
A small icon you earn in a game or app for doing something special.
Like a gold star a teacher gives you for good work.
She earned a badge for finishing every level.
You get a gold badge after ten wins.
Similarachievement, trophy, award
Note
5
nouncountable
A small mark on top of an icon that shows extra information, like how many new messages you have.
Like a little number on your mailbox that tells you how many letters arrived.
A red badge on the mail icon showed three new messages.
Turn off the badge if you don't want to see message counts.
Note
6
nouncountable
A sign that shows what something really is or stands for.
Like muddy shoes that show someone walked through dirt.
Her calm voice was a badge of her years of training.
The scar became a badge of his bravery.
Similarmark, sign, token, symbol, emblem
Note
7
nounslangcountable
A police officer, especially in casual speech.
Like calling firefighters 'helmets' because of what they wear.
A couple of badges showed up to break up the fight.
The badge told him to pull over.
Similarcop, copper, officer
Note
8
verbtransitive
To mark something or someone by giving them a badge.
Like putting a name sticker on each guest at a party.
The school badges each new student on their first day.
They badge all visitors before letting them inside.
Note
9
verbtransitive or intransitive
To go into a guarded area by showing your badge.
Like using a ticket to get through a gate.
You have to badge in before you reach the lab.
She badged in at the front gate this morning.
Similarswipe
Note
10
verbtransitive
To show your badge to someone.
Like flashing a ticket to prove you are allowed in.
The detective will badge the suspect before the interview.
She badged the guard and walked straight through.
11
nouncountable
A sign worn by servants and followers of a noble family who may not have their own coat of arms.
Like a uniform that shows which team a player belongs to.
Each servant of the duke wore a badge showing a white swan.
The lord's followers carried his badge on their sleeves.
Similaremblem, device
Note
12
nouncountable
A carved decoration on the back of a ship that holds a window or a fake window.
Like a fancy picture frame built into the back of a ship.
The old ship's badge was carved with leaves around a small window.
Sailors admired the gilded badge on the stern of the warship.
Note

Less common meaning

13
nounobsolete
A burn mark put on a thief's hand as a punishment.
Like a permanent mark that everyone could see and no one forgot.
The branded badge on his palm marked him as a thief.
She saw the badge burned into the prisoner's hand.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of badge apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English badge, from Anglo-Norman bage or Medieval Latin bagea meaning "sign" or "emblem." Its origin is not certain.