Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense begs, present participle begging, past tense, past participle begged
1. verb
If you beg someone to do something, you ask them very anxiously or eagerly to do it.
I begged him to come back to England with me. [VERB noun to-infinitive]
I begged to be allowed to leave. [VERB to-infinitive]
We are not going to beg for help any more. [VERB + for]
They dropped to their knees and begged forgiveness. [VERB noun]
[Also V n with quote]
Synonyms: implore, plead with, beseech, desire [formal] More Synonyms of beg
2. verb [oft cont]
If someone who is poor is begging, they are asking people to give them food or money.
I was surrounded by people begging for food. [VERB + for]
There are thousands like him, begging on the streets and sleeping rough. [VERB]
She was living alone, begging food from neighbors. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: scrounge [informal], bum [informal], blag [slang], touch (someone) for [slang] More Synonyms of beg
3.
See I beg to differ
4.
See going begging
5.
See beg the question
6.
See beg the question
7. I beg your pardon
More Synonyms of beg
beg in British English1
(bɛɡ)
verbWord forms: begs, begging or begged
1. (whenintr, often foll by for)
to solicit (for money, food, etc), esp in the street
2.
to ask (someone) for (something or leave to do something) formally, humbly, or earnestly
I beg forgiveness
I beg to differ
3. (intransitive)
(of a dog) to sit up with forepaws raised expectantly
4.
to leave unanswered or unresolved
to beg a point
5. beg the question
6. go begging
▶ USAGE The use of beg the question to mean that a question needs to be asked is considered by some people to be incorrect
Word origin
C13: probably from Old English bedecian; related to Gothic bidagwabeggar
beg in British English2
(bɛɡ)
noun
a variant of bey
beg in American English
(bɛg)
verb transitiveWord forms: begged or ˈbegging
1.
to ask for as charity or as a gift
he begged a dime
2.
to ask for earnestly as a kindness or favor
verb intransitive
3.
to ask for alms; be a beggar
4.
to ask humbly; entreat
Idioms:
beg off
beg the question
go begging
SYNONYMY NOTE: beg implies humbleness or earnestness in asking for something and is now often used inpolite formulas [I beg to differ, I beg to report]; solicit stresses courtesy and formality in requesting something [we solicit your aid, he solicits our trade]; entreat implies the use of all the persuasive power at one's command; , beseech suggests fervor or passion in the asking and connotes anxiety over the outcome; , implore is stronger still, suggesting desperation or great distress; , importune suggests persistence in entreating, often to the point of becoming offensive
Word origin
ME beggen < Anglo-Fr begger < begart < OFr begard, religious mendicant < MDu beggaert
More idioms containing
beg
beg the question
Examples of 'beg' in a sentence
beg
It says how much your wife loves you that she kept begging to get back with you.
The Sun (2016)
He survived by crawling on the stumps of his legs and begging for food.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is weird and unsettling and sends one of our group bolting for the door, begging to leave.
The Sun (2016)
If it looks like she will go to the police, tell your wife now and beg for her forgiveness and support.
The Sun (2016)
He begged Mum for forgiveness and came back, but left again after a week.
The Sun (2016)
A SCHOOL head has begged parents for money to buy textbooks.
The Sun (2016)
Yesterday orphans lined the streets begging for food.
The Sun (2013)
It takes me a moment to realize he is begging for money for medicine.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
Two sides chasing hard to keep their seasons alive are also begging to be backed.
The Sun (2006)
They prefer to wait until they see a rich man and then go and beg for something.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
And he begged for money from me.
George Eliot Daniel Deronda (1876)
Then they would have to come begging back.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Now it appears he is having to resort to larger bribes to beg them to leave.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
More than three missed calls and it means you begged for something.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He begged forgiveness and they got back together the next day.
The Sun (2015)
Then he came back and she begged him to stay.
The Sun (2009)
But this is an unashamed visual feast that will leave your eyeballs begging for mercy.
The Sun (2008)
Fearing for their lives the family begged his forgiveness and offered all that they owned as compensation.
Barrett, Clive The Gods of Asgard (1989)
Many people were reduced to begging for food.
Christianity Today (2000)
She says he begged to come back.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
But the takeaway addict could not stop himself begging for food.
The Sun (2015)
He struggles to understand why he let her and why he stayed when his friends begged him to leave.
The Sun (2013)
In his message he begs forgiveness.
The Sun (2014)
With his brother in the next room, there was no need to beg for money in writing.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
beg
British English: beg /bɛɡ/ VERB
If you beg someone to do something, you ask them anxiously or eagerly to do it.
I begged him to come back with me.
We are not going to beg for help any more.
American English: beg
Arabic: يَسْتَجْدِي
Brazilian Portuguese: implorar
Chinese: 乞求
Croatian: moliti
Czech: prosit
Danish: tigge
Dutch: bedelen
European Spanish: suplicar
Finnish: kerjätä
French: supplier
German: betteln
Greek: ικετεύω
Italian: implorare
Japanese: 物乞いをする
Korean: 구걸하다
Norwegian: tigge
Polish: poprosić
European Portuguese: pedir
Romanian: a implora
Russian: просить
Latin American Spanish: suplicar
Swedish: tigga
Thai: ขอร้อง
Turkish: yalvarmak
Ukrainian: благати
Vietnamese: năn nỉ
All related terms of 'beg'
beg off
to ask to be released from an engagement , obligation, etc
beg leave
to ask permission
Toghril Beg
?990–1063 ad , Sultan of Turkey (1055–63), who founded the Seljuq dynasty and conquered Baghdad (1055)
beg the question
If you say that something begs a particular question , you mean that it makes people want to ask that question; some people consider that this use is incorrect .
I beg to differ
You say 'I beg to differ ' when you are politely emphasizing that you disagree with someone.
beg on bended knee
to ask someone for something very seriously
I beg your pardon
You say ' Pardon ? ' or ' I beg your pardon? ' or, in American English , ' Pardon me? ' when you want someone to repeat what they have just said because you have not heard or understood it.
pardon
People say ' I beg your pardon? ' when they are surprised or offended by something that someone has just said .
Chinese translation of 'beg'
beg
(bɛɡ)
vi
[beggar]乞讨(討) (qǐtǎo)
vt
[food, money]讨(討) (tǎo)
[favour]请(請)求 (qǐngqiú)
[forgiveness, mercy etc]乞求 (qǐqiú)
to beg for sth乞求某物 (qǐqiú mǒuwù)
to beg sb to do sth恳(懇)求某人做某事 (kěnqiú mǒurén zuò mǒushì)
I beg your pardon (apologizing) 对(對)不起 (duìbuqǐ) (not hearing) 请(請)再说(說)一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yī biàn)
to beg the question (as to) whether令人质(質)疑 (lìng rén zhìyí)
All related terms of 'beg'
beg off
请(請)求免除 qǐngqiú miǎnchú
to beg for sth
乞求某物 qǐqiú mǒuwù
I beg your pardon
( apologizing ) 对(對)不起 duìbuqǐ
to beg sb to do sth
恳(懇)求某人做某事 kěnqiú mǒurén zuò mǒushì
to beg or plead for mercy
乞求宽(寬)恕 qǐqiú kuānshù
I beg your pardon!, pardon me!
( I'm sorry! ) 对(對)不起！ duìbuqǐ!
to ask or beg for forgiveness
请(請)求 或 乞求原谅(諒) qǐngqiú huò qǐqiú yuánliàng
(I beg your) pardon?
( what did you say? ) 请(請)问(問)您刚(剛)才说(說)什么(麼)？ qǐngwèn nín gāngcái shuō shénme?
to beg the question (as to) whether
令人质(質)疑 lìng rén zhìyí
1 (verb)
Definition
to ask formally, humbly, or earnestly
I begged him to come back to England with me.
Synonyms
implore
`Tell me what to do!' she implored him.
plead with
beseech
She beseeched him to take more exercise.
desire (formal)
His Majesty desires me to make his wishes known to you.
request
They requested him to leave.
pray
They prayed for help.
petition
She is petitioning to regain ownership of the business.
conjure (formal)
crave (informal)
If I may crave your lordship's indulgence, I would like to consult my client.
solicit
She was soliciting a donation from a rich tycoon.
entreat
They entreated the audience to stay calm.
importune (formal)
beggars importuning passers-by
supplicate
go on bended knee to
2 (verb)
Definition
to ask for money or food in the street
I was surrounded by people begging for food.
Synonyms
scrounge (informal)
She had to scrounge the money.
bum (informal)
Mind if I bum a cigarette?
blag (slang)
touch (someone) for (slang)
mooch (slang)
cadge
He asked if he could cadge a ride from somebody.
forage for
hunt around (for)
sponge on (someone) for
freeload (slang)
seek charity
call for alms
solicit charity
Opposites
give
, present,
award
,
grant
,
commit
,
contribute
,
donate
,
confer
,
bestow
,
impart
,
apportion
3 (verb)
The research begs a number of questions.
Synonyms
dodge
He has repeatedly dodged the question.
avoid
He had ample time to swerve and avoid the hedgehog.
get out of
duck (informal)
He had ducked the confrontation.
hedge
When asked about his involvement, he hedged.
parry
He parried questions about his involvement in the affair.
shun
From that time forward everybody shunned him.
evade
He managed to evade the police for six months.
elude
The thieves managed to elude the police for months.
fudge
certain issues that can no longer be fudged
fend off
eschew
He eschewed publicity and avoided nightclubs.
flannel (British, informal)
He flannelled and prevaricated.
sidestep
He was trying to sidestep responsibility.
shirk
We will not shirk the task of considering the need for further action.
equivocate
He is equivocating a lot about what is going to happen at the next election.
body-swerve
Additional synonyms
in the sense of avoid
Definition
to keep out of the way of
He had ample time to swerve and avoid the hedgehog.