beg

play

verb \ ˈbeg \

Definition of beg

begged; begging

transitive verb

1 :to ask for as a charity (see charity 2a)

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

2 :to elicit a question logically as a reaction or response

the quarterback's injury begs the question of who will start in his place

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

RELATED:Brewers' struggles with runners in scoring position makes them vulnerable when HRs vanish MLB: Live scoreboard, box scores, standings, schedules All of which begs the question: What exactly do the Brewers have in Villar?

— tom haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Haudricourt: Brewers have decision to make at second base after Villar's poor season," 26 Aug. 2017
Let this be a lesson to not be afraid to make a major change — especially if your hair is begging for it.

— kaleigh fasanella, Allure, "Willow Smith Revealed Why She Shaved Her head in 2012," 24 Aug. 2017
With BDSM play such as spanking, begging and whining can be dirty talk that’s part of the action, so Ortmann recommends selecting a word that’s completely out of context.

— sophie saint thomas, GQ, "A Very Useful Guide to Sexy Spanking," 9 Aug. 2017
That kind of outrage doesn’t seem to faze Ghosn, whose own parties beg comparisons to far more flagrant historical parallels.

— monte reel, Bloomberg.com, "If Davos Were a Person, It Would Be Carlos Ghosn," 20 July 2017
A member of the Republican National Committee in Nevada apologized after retweeting an article that begged for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to die.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Teflon Trump gets blamed less by base for Obamacare fail than Senate GOP," 19 July 2017
For those opposed to large primal cuts of cow, consider the sea bream, which is cleverly deboned yet served whole with charred halves of lemon and orange that beg to be given a liberal squeeze.

— garrett snyder, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Los Angeles Magazine Hot Restaurant List for July 2017," 18 July 2017
As soon as football season had ended, Tsu and teammate Jake Arnold were begging their coach to let them get started with their training for track and field in the spring.

— andrew turner, Daily Pilot, "Daily Pilot Boys' Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Rededicated Tsu impressed himself, others," 13 July 2017
Mr Nkundiye spent eight years in prison but was then released, having confessed and begged forgiveness.

— The Economist, "Paul Kagame, feted and feared," 13 July 2017

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

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First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

beg Synonyms

Synonyms

appeal (to), beseech, besiege, conjure, entreat, impetrate, implore, importune, petition, plead (to), pray, solicit, supplicate, call on (or upon)

Related Words

bludge [chiefly Australian & New Zealand], cadge, mooch, sponge; ask, desire, invoke, request, sue; claim, coerce, command, compel, demand, force, insist, require

Near Antonyms

hint, imply, intimate, suggest; appease, conciliate, gratify, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, please, satisfy; comfort, console, content, quiet

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

play

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