beget

verb

be·​get bi-ˈget 

bē-

begot bi-ˈgät 

bē-

also begat bi-ˈgat 

bē-

; begotten bi-ˈgä-tᵊn 

bē-

or begot; begetting

transitive verb

1

: to procreate as the father : sire

He died without begetting an heir.

2

: to produce especially as an effect or outgrowth

Violence only begets more violence.

begetter noun

Synonyms

• create
• cause
• generate
• bring
• produce
• prompt
• do
• spawn

Examples of beget in a Sentence

He died without begetting an heir.

one change in the natural environment will beget others

Recent Examples on the Web

For my coverage on the controversy surrounding AI begetting AGI and ASI, see the link here. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 5 July 2025

Because Black artists have been so systematically eliminated from the genre, there are only a handful who’ve been able to gain the sort of traction that begets a Grammy nod. —Andrea Williams, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Using all of those techniques is key, as each open area begets another and another, with hundreds of individual levels becoming available as players descend straight down into the depths of the planet. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025

Aristotle was able to see his obsessions from a scholarly remove, and to recognize that his drive to spend so much time at depth may have begotten a sort of madness. —Matthew Gavin Frank june 12, Literary Hub, 12 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English begeten, beyeten, going back to Old English begietan "to get, beget," from be- be- + gietan "to get entry 1"

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for beget

• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beset
• brevet
• briquette
• brunet
• brunette
• burette
• cadet

Kids Definition

beget

verb

be·​get bi-ˈget 

begot -ˈgät  also begat -ˈgat  ; begotten -ˈgät-ᵊn  or begot; begetting

1

: to become the father of

2

: cause entry 2

begetter noun