Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

beg off

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.05 in modern English

Syllables: beg off
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To obtain somebody's permission to skip or cancel an event that one has previously arranged with them.

Example Sentences

"I wonder if I can beg off going to the meeting that day, since it will take me an extra two hours out of my way."
"That's an issue that I have not discussed with the legal people. I don't know what authority we have to prevent insurance companies from setting criteria for those people that they would insure. Whether that rests with us or with the Commissioner of Insurance, I don't know. I'm going to have to beg off that question."

Etymology

beg + off

Inflected Forms

begs off (present, singular) begging off (participle, present) begged off (participle, past) begged off (past)

Synonyms

cry off excuse

Questions

What does beg off mean?: To obtain somebody's permission to skip or cancel an event that one has previously arranged with them.
Where does beg off come from?: beg + off

How to pronounce beg off

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “beg off”.
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