a person who begs, esp one who lives by begging a person who has no money or resources; pauper fellow: lucky beggar!
to be beyond the resources of (esp in the phrase to beggar description) to impoverish; reduce to begging
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
beg•gar /ˈbɛgɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- a person who begs:Thousands of people became beggars in the streets after the war.
- Chiefly Brit. a person;
fellow:You lucky beggar!
v. [~ + object]
- to cause to become a beggar;
impoverish:The tyrant beggared the country at the expense of the people.
- beggar description, to be impossible to describe because words would be inadequate: The dirt, noise, and poverty of the place beggar description.
beg•gar
(beg′ər),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
beg′gar•hood′, n.
- a person who begs alms or lives by begging.
- a penniless person.
- a wretched fellow;
rogue:the surly beggar who collects the rents. - a child or youngster (usually prec. by little):a sudden urge to hug the little beggar.
v.t.
- to reduce to utter poverty;
impoverish:The family had been beggared by the war. - to cause one's resources of or ability for (description, comparison, etc.) to seem poor or inadequate:The costume beggars description.
- Middle English beggare, beggere. See beg1, -er1, -ar3 1175–1225
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