beg

verb

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\ 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

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 Haines remembers that Doja would constantly beg her to flat-iron her hair. — Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 16 Dec. 2021 While some viewers flock to her social media profiles on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and the streaming service Twitch to beg her to seek treatment, others have accused her of using her platform to promote eating disorders to young people. — New York Times, 22 Oct. 2021 This go-round, the Type S is aimed squarely at luxury muscle cars like Audi’s S-line, BMW’s M-series, Cadillac’s V-series — vehicles that beg you to bypass the interstate and take the long way home on country roads. — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 9 Oct. 2021 Sravan Krishna, a parent in the district, and others, beg to differ. — Anna Caplan, Dallas News, 27 Aug. 2021 On this last point, many U.S. veterans beg to differ. — Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Aug. 2021 An array of opponents in Brasilia and Washington beg to differ. — Washington Post, 11 Aug. 2021 Firms like Apple, Amazon and Netflix beg to differ. — Steve Denning, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2021 The males, known as drones, don’t have jobs and have to beg their sisters for food. — Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2021

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.