beg
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to ask for as a gift, as charity, or as a favor: to beg forgiveness.
to beg alms;
to beg forgiveness.
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to ask (someone) to give or do something; implore.
He begged me for mercy.
Sit down, I beg you.
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to take for granted without basis or justification.
a statement that begs the very point we're disputing.
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to fail or refuse to come to grips with; avoid; evade.
a report that consistently begs the whole problem.
verb (used without object)
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to ask alms or charity; live by asking alms.
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to ask humbly or earnestly: begging to differ.
begging for help;
begging to differ.
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(of a dog) to sit up, as trained, in a posture of entreaty.
verb phrase
idioms
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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.
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beg the question,
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to assume the truth of the very point raised in a question.
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to evade the issue or avoid a direct answer.
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to raise the question; inspire one to ask.
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noun
abbreviation
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begin.
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beginning.
verb
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to solicit (for money, food, etc), esp in the street
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to ask (someone) for (something or leave to do something) formally, humbly, or earnestly
I beg forgiveness
I beg to differ
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(intr) (of a dog) to sit up with forepaws raised expectantly
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to leave unanswered or unresolved
to beg a point
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to evade the issue
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to assume the thing under examination as proved
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to suggest that a question needs to be asked
the firm's success begs the question: why aren't more companies doing the same?
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to be unwanted or unused
noun
Usage
The use of beg the question to mean that a question needs to be asked is considered by some people to be incorrect
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
- half-begging adjective
- unbegged adjective
Etymology
Origin of beg1
First recorded before 900; Middle English beggen, by assimilation from unattested Old English bedican, variant of bedecian “to beg”; compare Gothic bidagwa “beggar”
Origin of beg2
First recorded in 1680–90; from Ottoman Turkish; bey
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.
That begs the question of how frontier models can differentiate themselves and, most importantly, monetize.
From MarketWatch
When she tried to leave, police said he begged her to stay and appeared to show remorse.
From BBC
It’s an awful, protracted sequence that begs the question, satire or not, is this truly the funniest bit they could hatch?
From Los Angeles Times
“Over the last four years, the space has begged the question: How can we fill it with life?”
He said the family had "cried and begged for help" in meetings at home.
From BBC
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.
