beg

verb \ ˈbeg \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

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Examples: beg in a Sentence

Definition of beg

begged; begging

transitive verb

1 : to ask for as a charity (see charity 1a)

begging food from strangers

begged him for some change

2 a : 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

See beg defined for English-language learners

See beg defined for kids

Examples of beg in a Sentence

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 of beg from the Web

In Genesis 30, the barren Rachel begs her husband, the patriarch Jacob, for a child.

— alissa wilkinson, Vox, "What two fictional Gileads can teach us about America in 2018," 12 July 2018
But the Asbury Ocean Club Surfside Resort and Residences begs its place as the jewel in the Asbury crown.

— wendy goodman, The Cut, "Asbury Park’s Glam Squad," 12 July 2018
Followers kiss him, hop onto his Chevy Tahoe to snap photos, and beg for an autograph.

— nacha cattan, Bloomberg.com, "The Man They Call AMLO, and Why He’s Captured Mexico," 30 June 2018
After a jury acquitted former Mesa police Officer Phillip Brailsford of second-degree murder in December, a judge allowed the release of unedited footage showing Brailsford fatally shooting a man who was on his knees crying, begging for his life.

— uriel j. garcia, azcentral, "Charges dropped against Robert Johnson, man brutally beaten by Mesa police," 14 June 2018
Bodycam video showed unarmed Shaver crawling and begging for his life, then reaching toward his pocket before Brailsford shot him multiple times.

— CBS News, "Newly released bodycam videos show moments before Mesa officers beat unarmed man," 7 June 2018
Facebook executives did a penitent tour through the halls of media and the Capitol, offering apologies and begging for the public’s forgiveness.

— jacob silverman, Longreads, "Searching for a Future Beyond Facebook," 2 May 2018
Across the country, chambers of commerce groan at the potential contraction and beg for a respite, particularly since the economy fell into recession last year.

— The Economist, "Saudi Arabia is pushing out foreigners to create jobs for locals," 28 Apr. 2018
As the humans blubbered and begged for their lives, the bots turned them into target practice, used their corpses to set up ambushes to create more corpses, and hanged them only after the slow torment of a monologue.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Westworld: 'Everything Is Code'," 22 Apr. 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.

Origin and Etymology of beg

Middle English beggen

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

beg Synonyms

Phrases

call on (or upon);

Synonym Discussion of beg

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

beg

abbreviation

Definition of beg

begin; beginning

BEG Defined for English Language Learners

beg

verb

Definition of beg for English Language Learners

: to ask people for money or food
: to ask (someone) in a very serious and emotional way for something needed or wanted very much
: to ask for (something needed or wanted very much) in a very serious and emotional way