beggar
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to reduce to utter poverty; impoverish.
The family had been beggared by the war.
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to cause one's resources of or ability for (description, comparison, etc.) to seem poor or inadequate.
The costume beggars description.
noun
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a person who begs, esp one who lives by begging
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a person who has no money or resources; pauper
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ironic fellow
lucky beggar!
verb
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to be beyond the resources of (esp in the phrase to beggar description )
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to impoverish; reduce to begging
Other Word Forms
- beggarhood noun
Etymology
Origin of beggar
First recorded in 1175–1225, beggar is from the Middle English word beggare, beggere. See beg 1, -er 1, -ar 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She told MSPs that a new track would not have received planning permission, adding it "beggars belief" parliament found time to debate a bill that does "little or nothing" for greyhound safety.
From BBC
A quick flash of the little beggar, Cat Neely, her curly hair covering most of her face.
From Literature
The survey looks at "everyday giving" which includes both direct, personal help - to beggars, family or friends, often seen as charity - and donations to organised, non-religious institutions, which are typically described as philanthropy.
From BBC
Robbie’s most deliciously debasing scene is when she throws coins on the ground for a desperate beggar — and then that person forces her to watch as he picks them up.
From Los Angeles Times
"You go into the hospital and there's sepsis posters on lifts and walls but if their actual frontline staff can't recognise the symptoms of sepsis, it just beggars belief," said Jane.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
