beg

[ beg ]

See synonyms for beg on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),begged, beg·ging.

to ask for as a gift, as charity, or as a favor: 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.

verb (used without object),begged, beg·ging.

to ask alms or charity; live by asking alms.
to ask humbly or earnestly: begging for help;begging to differ.

(of a dog) to sit up, as trained, in a posture of entreaty.

Verb Phrases

beg off, to request or obtain release from an obligation, promise, etc.: He had promised to drive us to the recital but begged off at the last minute.

Idioms about beg

beg the question, : See Usage note at the current entry.
- 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.
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.

Origin of beg

First recorded before 900; Middle English beggen, by assimilation from unattested Old English bedican, variant of bedecian “to beg”; compare Gothic bidagwa “beggar”

synonym study For beg

1, 2, 6. 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.

word story For beg

9. The idiom beg the question is a translation of the Latin rhetorical term petitio principii and its original meaning is “to assume the truth of the very point under discussion.” For example, to answer the question “Can we afford another employee?” by stating how convenient it would be to have another employee would be begging the question. This idiom was then taken to mean “to evade the issue or avoid the question,” a natural assumption if one is unfamiliar with the original meaning. The most recent, and now quite common, sense is “to raise the question”: His success begs the question: what will be his next project? However, the original meaning, having to do with a fallacy of reasoning or argument, is useful and in fact many people favor restricting the phrase to this meaning.

Other words for beg

2	entreat, pray, beseech, petition

See synonyms for beg on Thesaurus.com

Other words from beg

half-begging, adjective
un·begged, adjective

Other definitions for beg (2 of 3)

beg²

[ beyg, beg ]

noun

bey.

Origin of beg

First recorded in 1680–90; from Ottoman Turkish; see origin at bey

Other definitions for beg. (3 of 3)

beg.

abbreviation

begin.
beginning.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use beg in a sentence

Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vacciiiiiiiiiiiiiine I’m begging you, please go in my arm.
Of course Dolly Parton helped fund the Moderna vaccine | Claire Zillman, reporter | November 18, 2020 | Fortune
Our model still thinks City and Liverpool are the respective best and second-best team in the league — and by some margin — but the Premier League table begs to differ.
Liverpool And Manchester City Look Ordinary. Are They? | Terrence Doyle | November 12, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
One morning, a well-to-do couple named Lawrence and Pauline Treherne unexpectedly show up at the Polydorus, practically begging for Susan’s help.
Agatha Christie fans, take note: Anthony Horowitz has a clever new twist on the classic whodunit | Michael Dirda | November 11, 2020 | Washington Post
Trick-or-treating still exists, but increasingly, it doesn’t involve small bands of children wandering their neighborhood at night, unsupervised, to beg for candy.
Watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with a 5-year-old | Emily VanDerWerff | October 30, 2020 | Vox
The Ulanzi tripod can be easily transformed into a selfie stick, allowing you to capture all the photos you want without having to beg a stranger.
The best mini tripods for capturing high-quality photos and video | PopSci Commerce Team | October 7, 2020 | Popular-Science

I answered his questions perfunctorily, begging off that I was soon to return to my dorm, as I was tired.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything | Liz Seccuro | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
As long as Western governments talk tough one minute and hold out the begging bowl the next, not much is likely to change.
U.S. Ally Qatar Shelters Jihadi Moneymen | Jamie Dettmer | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The winter air is rent with cries from thousands of puffed up lips, begging to be let in.
Russia’s Gold Digger Academy | Peter Pomerantsev | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They hop around the country begging for dollars, when they used to spend that time together, professionally and socially.
Time is Money: How to Fix Outrageous Political Spending | Jim Arkedis | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Distraught, confused and ashamed, both men broke down in the courtroom, weeping like children and begging for forgiveness.
Did Picasso Try to Steal the Mona Lisa? | Nick Mafi | October 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They don't seem to think there would be much good gained by begging for special favours through routine channels.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
He threw himself on his knees, begging us, in the name of God and all the saints, to spare his life.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various
What the economist does is to slip out of the difficulty altogether by begging the whole question.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen Leacock
Other orchestra leaders are always writing and begging him to lend them his copies of Oratorios, etc.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy Fay
This time it was she who was begging him to go away and leave her, and he was forced to comfort her all through the night.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for beg (1 of 2)

beg¹

/ (bɛɡ) /

verbbegs, begging or begged

(when intr , often foll by for) 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
beg the question
- 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?
go begging or go a-begging to be unwanted or unused

Origin of beg

C13: probably from Old English bedecian; related to Gothic bidagwa beggar

usage For beg

The use of beg the question to mean that a question needs to be asked is considered by some people to be incorrect

See also beg off

British Dictionary definitions for beg (2 of 2)

beg²

/ (bɛɡ) /

noun

a variant of bey

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with beg

beg

In addition to the idioms beginning with beg

beginning of the end, the
begin to see daylight
begin to see the light
begin with
beg off
beg the question
beg to differ

also see:

go begging

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