beget
Americanverb
-
to father
-
to cause or create
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of beget
First recorded before 1000; Middle English begeten ( see be-, get); replacing Middle English biyeten, Old English begetan; cognate with Gothic bigitan, Old High German bigezzan
Explanation
To beget means to generate something, usually children, and it can be used to refer to the role of either a mother or a father. If we analyze the word beget, we get the prefix be-, which tends to intensify the meaning of the following verb, and get, which means to cause something to enter one's possession. The word is usually used to refer to having children, although it can be used to refer to anything that generates something else — for example, an inspiration can beget a brilliant idea.
Vocabulary lists containing beget
Motherlode: A Mother's Day Lexicon
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Words for Father's Day: What Fathers Do
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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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.
The disaster beget $53 billion in losses, with insurers covering around $40 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026
But finding yourself in a bind necessitates clever solutions, and Park’s already dark comedy turns jet-black as the director reveals that stress can beget new talents.
From Salon • Oct. 7, 2025
Rather than allow mistake to beget mistake, as they so often did across the autumn, Ireland moved slowly through the gears before finally reaching cruising speed.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2025
On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… atrocities beget atrocities.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2023
Rams wrapped in theremo- gene beget no lambs.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
