beggar-thy-neighbor
adjective
beg·gar-thy-neigh·bor
ˈbe-gər-ˌṯẖī-ˈnā-bər 
: relating to or being an action or policy that produces gains for one group at the expense of another
followed beggar-thy-neighbor policies in imposing taxes
Examples of beggar-thy-neighbor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These new trade rules must distinguish countries that abide by high labor and environmental standards and refrain from anticompetitive, beggar-thy-neighbor policies from countries that don’t.
—
Wally Adeyemo, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
Countries resorted to competitive devaluations, what historians labelled beggar-thy-neighbor policies.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
But beggar-thy-neighbor tariffs and a scrambled supply chain make no one wealthier.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 22 Feb. 2025
But there are long-term costs, and not simply in the risk of beggar-thy-neighbor trade policies of the kind that deepened the Great Depression.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2025
Yet the timing complicates any move by China to go the beggar-thy-neighbor route.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
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Wally Adeyemo, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
Countries resorted to competitive devaluations, what historians labelled beggar-thy-neighbor policies.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
But beggar-thy-neighbor tariffs and a scrambled supply chain make no one wealthier.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 22 Feb. 2025
But there are long-term costs, and not simply in the risk of beggar-thy-neighbor trade policies of the kind that deepened the Great Depression.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2025
Yet the timing complicates any move by China to go the beggar-thy-neighbor route.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Beggar-thy-neighbor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beggar-thy-neighbor. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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