Library / English Dictionary

BEG

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: begged    , begging   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Call upon in supplication; entreat

Example:

I beg you to stop!

Synonyms:

beg; implore; pray

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "beg" is one way to...):

plead (appeal or request earnestly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beg"):

crave (plead or ask for earnestly)

supplicate (ask humbly (for something))

importune; insist (beg persistently and urgently)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence examples:

They beg him to write the letter

They beg to move

Also:

beg off (ask for permission to be released from an engagement)

Derivation:

beggary (a solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently

Example:

My neighbor keeps soliciting money for different charities

Synonyms:

beg; solicit; tap

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "beg" is one way to...):

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beg"):

quest (seek alms, as for religious purposes)

canvass (solicit votes from potential voters in an electoral campaign)

buttonhole; lobby (detain in conversation by or as if by holding on to the outer garments of; as for political or economic favors)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something from somebody

Derivation:

beggary (a solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Dodge, avoid answering, or take for granted

Example:

beg the point in the discussion

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "beg" is one way to...):

circumvent; dodge; duck; elude; evade; fudge; hedge; parry; put off; sidestep; skirt (avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Ask to obtain free

Example:

beg money and food

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "beg" is one way to...):

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "beg"):

cadge; schnorr; scrounge; shnorr (obtain or seek to obtain by cadging or wheedling)

panhandle (beg by accosting people in the street and asking for money)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Derivation:

beggary (a solicitation for money or food (especially in the street by an apparently penniless person))

Credits

 Context examples: 

“I am quite done with that person; and I beg that you will spare me any allusion to one whom I regard as dead.”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But the prince begged very hard, and said, Only tell me what it is, and do not think I shall be angry, for I will forgive you.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

“But I beg to point out that I have not yet heard what has happened to Mr. Garcia, nor what has become of his household.”

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I beg your pardon, Sir Charles,” said he.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But I beg and pray you, gentlemen, that you will go from my house, for I know not what may come of it if his rage should gain the mastery of him.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

‘Sir,’ he says, ‘in answer to your advertisement of to-day’s date, I beg to inform you that I know the young lady in question very well.’

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"I beg your pardon," he stammered. "I was thinking."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

But if it is the lovely Lady I shall beg hard for a heart, for all ladies are themselves said to be kindly hearted.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Beg off social obligations, and take some sweet time for yourself over the weekend of March 7-8, and if you can, take one extra day off, Monday, March 9.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I begged his patience to hear me tell my story, which I faithfully did, from the last time I left England, to the moment he first discovered me.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)