beg

verb

\ ˈbeg

begged; begging

Definition of beg

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to ask for as a charity (see charity sense 1a) begging food from strangers begged him for some change

2a : to ask earnestly for : entreat beg forgiveness I beg your pardon.

b : to require as necessary or appropriate a scene that begged to be photographed

3 : evade, sidestep begged the real problems

intransitive verb

1 : to ask for alms children begging on the streets

2 : to ask earnestly begged for mercy

beg the question

1 : to elicit a question logically as a reaction or response the quarterback's injury begs the question of who will start in his place

2 : to pass over or ignore a question by assuming it to be established or settled

beg

abbreviation

Definition of beg (Entry 2 of 2)

begin; beginning

Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about beg

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Choose the Right Synonym for beg

Verb

beg, entreat, beseech, implore, supplicate, adjure, importune mean to ask urgently. beg suggests earnestness or insistence in the asking. they begged for help entreat implies an effort to persuade or to overcome resistance. entreated me to join them beseech and implore imply a deeply felt anxiety. I beseech you to have mercy implored her not to leave him supplicate suggests a posture of humility. with bowed heads they supplicated their Lord adjure implies advising as well as pleading. we were adjured to tell the truth importune suggests an annoying persistence in trying to break down resistance to a request. importuning viewers for contributions

Examples of beg in a Sentence

Verb

A homeless man begs on that corner every day. children begging strangers for food children begging food from strangers He begged the doctor for medicine. She begged him to read the story again. He begged that she would forgive him. begging a favor of someone He's too proud to beg. “Does your dog know any tricks?” “She knows how to beg.”

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Racks upon racks of discount merchandise greet you at the door of any thrift store, begging you to peruse and find some special gem that's just your size, style, and price point. — Woman's Day Staff, Woman's Day, "How to Find the Best Stuff at Thrift Stores," 21 Feb. 2019 This pedestrian-friendly medieval town features vibrantly colored buildings in yellows, pinks, and greens that are just begging to be photographed. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "The 25 most colorful cities in the world," 19 Feb. 2019 Your coffee table is begging for a book of your ten-year-old's art! — Maya Mcdowell, House Beautiful, "Artkive Is The Most Adorable Solution For Saving All Of Your Kid’s Art Without The Clutter," 25 Jan. 2019 Paramedics performed chest compressions on the 17-year-old as some in the crowd begged police to take the sheet off. — chicagotribune.com, "'Unacceptable and frustrating': Chicago sees most violent weekend of the year," 18 June 2018 Then came the oil crunch; and almost immediately all of the tens of thousands of unsold Datsuns sitting in port transit yards disappeared overnight as dealers begged for that fuel-efficient product. — Ed Wallace, star-telegram, "Ford Quits the Car Business," 5 May 2018 The dark spaces begged for color, so Bhasin started by drawing from her favorite bright fabrics for inspiration. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "An Uninspired NYC Apartment Is Revived With Color, Charisma, and Customization," 17 Jan. 2019 That makes them among the first consumer GPUs capable of keeping up with Nvidia’s beastly new $2,000 4K G-Sync HDR monitors, the Acer Predator X27 and Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ, without begging for mercy—albeit at a hefty price. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti are loaded with boundary-pushing graphics tech," 20 Aug. 2018 Months later, Devonte showed up begging for peanut butter, tortillas and other food. — Joe Heim And Julie Tate, chicagotribune.com, "As children begged for help, adoption system failed them," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beg.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.