beggar

1 of 2

noun

beg·​gar ˈbe-gər How to pronounce beggar (audio)
1
: one that begs (see beg entry 1 sense 1)
especially : a person who lives by asking for gifts
2
: pauper
… this system only created beggars, completely dependent on outside help …Darcy Ribeiro
3
: fellow sense 4c
an unlucky beggar

beggar

2 of 2

verb

beggared; beggaring ˈbe-gə-riŋ How to pronounce beggar (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to reduce to poverty or the practice of asking for charity : to reduce to beggary
2
: to exceed the resources or abilities of : defy
beggars description
so outrageous as to beggar belief

Examples of beggar in a Sentence

Noun I heard you won the contest! You lucky beggar! the pitiful beggars that are such a common sight in underdeveloped countries Verb Years of civil war had beggared the country.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
But beggars can’t be choosers, and Republicans had reduced the Ukrainians to beggars. David Axe, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 Postwar Phnom Penh was a ramshackle city of squatters, hustlers, and beggars. Chantha Nguon, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2024 One of the best gags involves a famous British actor playing a beggar who is somehow mistaken for Jesus. Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 8 Jan. 2024 Another reason poverty is seen as a novelty among the middle class is that local governments usually chase beggars and homeless people off the streets. Li Yuan, New York Times, 4 May 2023 The Greek myth from the fifth century BCE follows Oedipus’ final years after he is banished from his city and becomes a beggar in a seaside town outside of Athens. Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023 Even before Kim's armored train rolled into Russia to discuss an arms deal with Putin, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described Putin as a beggar. Shannon K. Crawford, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2023 Yet while thousands of beggars and homeless people are removed from Delhi’s streets and forcibly bused to the city limits, where they are dumped, hundreds of thousands more are added amid a spate of demolitions. Srishti Jaswal, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2023 In 2010, when the now opposition Indian National Congress was in power, beggars were forced to move from the streets of New Delhi and slums were destroyed in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games, upending the lives of tens of thousands in the capital. Rhea Mogul, CNN, 5 Sep. 2023
Verb
Ria eventually uncovers a nefarious plot that beggars even euphemistic description in a spoiler-free universe. Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2023 Iraq entered a long, grueling period of international sanctions that beggared its once robust middle class. New York Times, 31 Dec. 2019 This, given the popularity of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, beggars belief. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 15 Aug. 2019 His cat like reflex saves often beggared belief, and he was voted Player of the Year at the conclusion of the 2001/02 season. SI.com, 12 June 2019 Summer is made of stories: fiction that seems true, and true stories that beggar belief. John Timpane, Philly.com, 2 June 2018 To imagine that a country with an economy smaller than Canada’s or Italy’s could leverage a superpower ten times wealthier beggared the imagination. Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, 8 May 2018 And both seek a way out, though nothing could be less virtual, or more beggared of thrills, than the path that Charley chooses. Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2018 The prescience of this story, intended as satire in the mid-’70s and all too real in 2018 America, beggars belief. Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beggar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English beggere, beggare, from beggen "to beg entry 1" + -ere, -are -er entry 2

Verb

Middle English beggeren, verbal derivative of beggere beggar entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of beggar was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near beggar

Cite this Entry

“Beggar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beggar. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

beggar

1 of 2 noun
beg·​gar ˈbeg-ər How to pronounce beggar (audio)
1
: a person who lives by begging
2
: a very poor person : pauper

beggar

2 of 2 verb
beggared; beggaring ˈbeg-(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce beggar (audio)
1
: to reduce to beggary
2
: to go beyond the ability of
the costumes almost beggar description

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