cadge
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to obtain by imposing on another's generosity or friendship.
-
to borrow without intent to repay.
-
to beg or obtain by begging.
verb (used without object)
-
to ask, expect, or encourage another person to pay for or provide one's drinks, meals, etc.
-
to beg.
noun
verb
noun
-
a person who cadges
-
informal engaged in cadging
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cadgesimple
-
cadgessimple
-
have cadgedperfect
-
has cadgedperfect
-
am cadgingprogressive
-
are cadgingprogressive
-
is cadgingprogressive
-
have been cadgingperfect progressive
-
has been cadgingperfect progressive
Past
-
cadgedsimple
-
had cadgedperfect
-
was cadgingprogressive
-
were cadgingprogressive
-
had been cadgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cadge1
1275–1325; perhaps to be identified with Middle English caggen to tie, of uncertain origin
Origin of cadge2
First recorded in 1605–15; apparently variant of cage
Explanation
To cadge is to plead or beg for something. A hungry child might cadge an extra cookie from her dad while he's baking. When you cadge something, you wheedle or plead for it, manipulating someone into giving it to you. If you forget your lunch, you might have to cadge parts of your friend's meal, and if you don't have change for a parking meter, you might try to cadge some from a person walking by. Since the early 1800s, to cadge has meant "to beg," and while its origin is uncertain, it may come from cadger, "itinerant dealer" or "peddler."
Vocabulary lists containing cadge
The Time Machine
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Inquire Within: Synoynms for "Ask"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Odyssey
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Schwarzenegger made a pilgrimage to Washington to cadge more money from the government, but came home empty-handed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2025
A visitor lucky enough to cadge an invitation from a member might end up in the company of a Supreme Court justice, the master of an Oxford college or the editor of a London newspaper.
From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2024
One recent morning, a man dropped by Mr. Mishurov’s farmyard office to cadge a bucket of corn for his hens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2018
Apparently this individual uses a variety of stories to cadge money, including claims of homelessness or a need to get to some distant city to see family.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 14, 2017
At one point, Kamen recalled, Alvarez tried to cadge more experimentation time from Lawrence by displaying a chart showing a decline in publications by members of the lab.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Levi cadges a tube ticket from the audience to use as a guitar wedge, they speed through one last aggregation of choppy guitar jabs and frenetic percussion, and Micachu and the Shapes are gone.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 26, 2012
Fiennes, exuding sulfurous resolve as Hades, cadges some sympathy for a god who is asked to align with Zeus, the younger brother who consigned him to the lower depths.
From Time ● Mar. 29, 2012
To minimize costs, he is based at his sister's apartment in Miami during the winter and then cadges accommodations all over the world by networking in the close-knit sailing community.
From Chicago Tribune ● Feb. 1, 2012
Trevor cadges 40 winks on a sofa at Nick and Jan's, an excruciating indulgence, in Nick's helpless view, since Trevor had once been Jan's lover.
From Time Magazine Archive
A beggar is not etymologically one who begs, or a cadger one who cadges.
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest
Instead she took a too-expensive Motel 6 room, then couch-surfed, cadged a shared hotel room with a colleague and slept some nights in the airport — which isn’t allowed, she said, but “I chanced it.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2023
Later, in Seattle, he cadged studio time from his room-mate and producer Barrett Jones, using spare tape from other bands' sessions to record his own "experiments".
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2021
Later, when she orders the Athenian senators to step down or die, their unlikely answer — “We no longer are defensible” — is cadged from “Henry V.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2020
The battle scenes, which should have the taut realism and intensity of “The Hurt Locker,” instead feel like an unconvincing series of poses cadged from earlier, better war movies.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2019
With an additional $500 cadged from the National Research Council, Lawrence ordered a custom magnet with nine-inch pole faces from the Federal Telegraph Company.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency told us again of babies cadging small-business loans and long-dead citizens collecting Social Security.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
In 1920 he heads to America, cadging an on-deck meeting with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2022
When we meet at the store a week before the CD's release, Latham is casually cadging a free coffee from one of her former colleagues.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2021
Before he got his band off the ground, he worked as a music journalist, cadging interviews with heroes like David Bowie and the Cure’s Robert Smith, hoping they’ll provide meaningful songwriting advice.
From Washington Post ● May 29, 2020
I gave three packs to a bug on R who was forever cadging cigarettes and also had an incredible body odor problem.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
