beg

verb \ ˈbeg \

Updated on: 18 May 2018

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

Which begs the question: Why in the world isn’t the camper sold here?

— megan barber, Curbed, "Why the Volkswagen California van is the camper we need," 9 May 2018
Still, panic began to set in as my body begged for oxygen and my hand groped about in vain.

— eric adams, WIRED, "Inside the Safety Issues Surrounding the NY Helicopter Crash," 8 Apr. 2018
This juxtaposition begs the question: are these chip implants a step toward an invasive dystopian future where employers track their subjects’ every movement?

— yael grauer, Ars Technica, "A practical guide to microchip implants," 3 Jan. 2018
Which begs the question: What about the rest of the time?

— anna silman, The Cut, "Kim Defends Kanye’s Tweets: ‘He’s Actually Out of the Sunken Place’," 25 Apr. 2018
All of which begs the question: Why did a White House this fanatically committed to serving Wall Street’s interests allow this to happen?

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Regulators Fine Wells Fargo $1 Billion for Abusing Consumers," 20 Apr. 2018
That begs a question whether European banks will benefit too.

— paul j. davies, WSJ, "The Banks Missing Out on the Stock-Trading Boom," 20 Apr. 2018
Ewell’s return begs the question whether junior attackman Jon Mazza, who is also serving an indefinite suspension since the loss at Denver and still leads the team in goals (16) and points (24), might return.

— edward lee, baltimoresun.com, "Sid Ewell returned from suspension to play long-stick midfielder for Towson men’s lacrosse," 18 Apr. 2018
The anniversary begs the question: how has America changed since his passing?

— aubrey nagle, Philly.com, "Sheriff Green beats all charges, how MLK's death changed America, Villanova preps for parade | Morning Newsletter," 4 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