beg Definition

beg
verb, tr & intr begged, begging

1. To ask for (money or food, etc).

Example: forced to beg for scraps
Thesaurus: cadge, slang: mooch, bum, sponge, scrounge, panhandle US), leech; Antonym: give, bestow.
2. To ask earnestly or humbly.

Example: Give me one chance, I beg you
Example: I beg your pardon
Example: begging for mercy
Thesaurus: plead, entreat, implore, beseech, supplicate, urge, request; Antonym: grant, accede, concede.
3. Said especially of an animal: to sit up on the hindquarters, or stand up on the back legs, with paws raised (like a dog asking for food or reward).

Idiom: beg the question

In an argument: to assume the truth of something which is in fact a part of what is still to be proved.

colloq
To avoid giving an answer on a tricky matter; to dodge an awkward subject.
Thesaurus: hedge, equivocate, tergiversate, hem and haw.

Idiom: beg to differ

To disagree.

Idiom: go begging

colloq
To be unused or unwanted.
Example: I'll have that sandwich if it's going begging

Etymology: 13c: probably from Anglo-Saxon bedecian.

Phrasal Verb: beg off

To ask to be excused from, or to apologize for being unable to be present at, something one had previously agreed to attend, do, take part in, etc.