From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbegbeg /beɡ/ ●●○ verb (begged, begging) 1 ask [intransitive, transitive] to ask for something in an anxious or urgent way, because you want it very much She begged and pleaded with them until they finally agreed. She fought back the sudden urge to run to him and beg his forgiveness.beg to do something The children begged to come with us.beg somebody to do something I begged Helen to stay, but she wouldn’t listen.beg (somebody) for something She ran to the nearest house and begged for help. We could hear the prisoners begging for mercy.I beg of you formal (=please) Listen, I beg of you.beg leave to do something formal (=ask permission to do something)► see thesaurus at ask2 money/food [intransitive, transitive]ASK FOR something/ASK somebody TO DO something to ask people to give you food, money etc, usually because you are very poorbeg (something) from somebody a ragged child begging from passing shoppersbeg for The old man went from door to door begging for food. a begging letter (=a letter asking for money)3 animal [intransitive]DHP if a dog begs, it sits up with its front legs off the ground4 → I beg your pardon5 → I beg to differ6 → beg the question7 → be going begging8 → beg, borrow, or steal→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
beg• All right, all right, I'll come! Just stop begging.• Things got so bad that at one point she thought she'd have to go out and beg.• Benji, stop begging.• Chad was begging and pleading.• He begged for a letter by return.• He might as well have gotten down on his hands and knees and begged for it.• The prisoner was in so much pain all he could do was scream and beg for mercy.• Just a few years ago, Tanya was homeless and begging for money in front of the supermarket.• Sad looking men of all ages beg from tourists at the corner of the square.• It's the same old story - one night he beats her up, and the next day he begs her for forgiveness.• We all begged him not to drive in the storm, but he wouldn't listen to us.• Beppe overhears her plans and when he confronts her, she begs him not to tell Roy.• He said he wouldn't give me the money unless I got down on my knees and begged him.• He says that the police were right behind them - he begged his brother to stop.• He begged his parents for lessons and began piano studies at age five.• Children were begging in the streets.• Such measures, of course, beg the question in many ways.• The plan begs the question of whether the development is actually needed.beg ... forgiveness• At the end of the play, Derikson receives a letter from Frederica, whom he had thought dead, begging forgiveness.• I was too proud to follow him and beg forgiveness.• If the evil characters are not punished per se they admit their guilt and often beg forgiveness.• Then he humbly begged her forgiveness.• Could Woodhead admit the affair, beg forgiveness and keep his job?• The courage to leave her and beg public forgiveness for his desertion of his cause and his friends.• C., to beg forgiveness for the way black men had mistreated their women and neglected their families.begging letter• She has hundreds of begging letters.• There were begging letters, midnight telephone calls.Origin beg (1200-1300) Probably from Old English bedecian 