to ask for as a gift, as charity, or as a favor: to beg forgiveness.
to beg alms;
to beg forgiveness.
to ask (someone) to give or do something; implore.
He begged me for mercy.
Sit down, I beg you.
to take for granted without basis or justification.
a statement that begs the very point we're disputing.
to fail or refuse to come to grips with; avoid; evade.
a report that consistently begs the whole problem.
to ask alms or charity; live by asking alms.
to ask humbly or earnestly: begging to differ.
begging for help;
begging to differ.
(of a dog) to sit up, as trained, in a posture of entreaty.
go begging, to remain open or available, as a position that is unfilled or an unsold item.
The job went begging for lack of qualified applicants.
beg the question,
to assume the truth of the very point raised in a question.
to evade the issue or avoid a direct answer.
to raise the question; inspire one to ask.
begin.
beginning.
to solicit (for money, food, etc), esp in the street
to ask (someone) for (something or leave to do something) formally, humbly, or earnestly
I beg forgiveness
I beg to differ
(intr) (of a dog) to sit up with forepaws raised expectantly
to leave unanswered or unresolved
to beg a point
to evade the issue
to assume the thing under examination as proved
to suggest that a question needs to be asked
the firm's success begs the question: why aren't more companies doing the same?
to be unwanted or unused
The use of beg the question to mean that a question needs to be asked is considered by some people to be incorrect
Beg and request are used in certain conventional formulas, in the sense of ask. Beg, once a part of many formal expressions used in letter writing, debate, etc., is now used chiefly in such courteous formulas as I beg your pardon; The Committee begs to state, etc. Request, more impersonal and now more formal, is used in giving courteous orders (You are requested to report) and in commercial formulas like to request payment.
First recorded before 900; Middle English beggen, by assimilation from unattested Old English bedican, variant of bedecian “to beg”; compare Gothic bidagwa “beggar”
First recorded in 1680–90; from Ottoman Turkish; see origin at bey
To beg is to ask for something in an earnest, pleading way. You might beg your roommates to be quiet if you're desperately trying to get some sleep. You can beg your parents to let you go to a concert with your friends, and you can beg your sister for forgiveness after you inadvertently hurt her feelings. In either case, you are imploring, asking sincerely for something you want. Many dogs are skilled at this, and will beg by sitting beside you while you eat, looking adorable. Another way to beg is to ask for desperately needed charity — to solicit money or food from strangers.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The 2020 clash was partly sparked by Chinese opposition to India building a new road near the border leading to a strategic air base, Daulat Beg Oldi.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 25, 2025
Uzbekistan’s medieval astronomer Ulugh Beg built the most advanced observatory of his time, charting the stars with uncanny precision long before Galileo.
From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025
"Pakistan's more than 250 million population is a solid market for Bangladesh in the medium to long term," says Sabrin Beg, an associate professor of economics at the University of Delaware.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2025
A large self-portrait on the wall, titled “I Beg You to Define Me,” shows a young woman wearing elaborately embroidered South Asian garments over sweatpants and running shoes.
From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2023
“Mr. Rochester won’t: though there is so much room in the new carriage. Beg him to let me go, mademoiselle.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
