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Synonyms

beg off

British  

verb

  1. (intr, adverb) to ask to be released from an engagement, obligation, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
beg off Idioms  

  1. Ask to be released from an obligation; turn down an invitation. For example, He's asked me out to dinner three times already, but I have to beg off again, or Mother couldn't take on another committee and so she begged off. [Early 1700s]

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.

McCann, then 30, told them he needed to beg off.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 21, 2023

Just make enough plans for it not to feel weird — and actually show up for them, too, through the temptation to beg off and stay home instead.

From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2022

I had the beginnings of a sore throat and used that as an excuse to beg off.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2021

It does make me drowsy, but not so tired that I have to beg off work for a nap.

From The Verge • Jan. 13, 2021

The homeless people who beg off the tourists are gone, too, and it is mostly just Jane and me.

From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

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.