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
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 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

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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

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
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
Screaming at me at the top of its lungs. Begging me to give it my best shot.

— eli boyer, Detroit Free Press, "More burgers for Detroit? Restaurateur responds and makes the case," 5 July 2017
One woman in a niqab on a recent ride gave graphic details about her daughter’s illness, saying the costs of treatment forced her to beg.

— hamza hendawi, The Seattle Times, "Shunned by the rich, Cairo’s subway speaks of economic woes," 5 July 2017
This begs the question: Why were so many murdered, and why does no one seem to remember?

— law w., The Root, "#NeverForget: 100 Years Ago, East St. Louis Was on Fire," 2 July 2017
Others tagged her ex The Weeknd in the photo's comment section, which begs the question, why?

— rosemary donahue, Allure, "Bella Hadid Just Posted a Nude Selfie to Instagram That Fans are Loving," 1 July 2017
At others, audience members yelled at the actors, begging them to stop.

— travis m. andrews, kansascity, "Broadway’s bloody portrayal of ‘1984,’ starring Olivia Wilde, is making people faint," 28 June 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

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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