Beggar Definition

beggar

Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to beggar: beggar description, Begger, Beggar thy neighbour
beg·gar  (bĕg′ər)
n.
1. One who solicits alms for a living.
2. An impoverished person; a pauper.
3. Informal A man or a boy.
tr.v. beg·gared, beg·gar·ing, beg·gars
1. To make a beggar of; impoverish.
2. To exceed the limits, resources, or capabilities of: beauty that beggars description.
[Middle English, from Old French begart, ultimately from Middle Dutch beggaert, one who rattles off prayers.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
beggar (ˈbɛɡə)
n
1. a person who begs, esp one who lives by begging
2. a person who has no money or resources; pauper
3. ironic jocular chiefly Brit fellow: lucky beggar!.
vb (tr)
4. to be beyond the resources of (esp in the phrase to beggar description)
5. to impoverish; reduce to begging
ˈbeggarˌhood, ˈbeggardom n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
beg•gar (ˈbɛg ər)
n.
1. a person who begs alms or lives by begging.
2. a penniless person.
3. a rascal; rogue.
4. a person; fellow.
v.t.
5. to reduce to utter poverty; impoverish.
6. to cause to seem inadequate; exhaust the resources of.
[1175–1225]
beg′gar•hood`, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
beggar
Past participle: beggared
Gerund: beggaring


Imperative
beggar
beggar
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun 1. beggar - a pauper who lives by begging
mendicant
beggarman - a man who is a beggar
beggarwoman - a woman who is a beggar
cadger, mooch, moocher, scrounger - someone who mooches or cadges (tries to get something free)
panhandler - a beggar who approaches strangers asking for money
pauper - a person who is very poor
sannyasi, sannyasin, sanyasi - a Hindu religious mendicant
Verb 1. beggar - be beyond the resources of; "This beggars description!"
resist, defy, refuse - elude, especially in a baffling way; "This behavior defies explanation"
2. beggar - reduce to beggary    
pauperise, pauperize
impoverish - make poor
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
beggar
noun
1. tramp, bankrupt, bum (informal), derelict, drifter, down-and-out, pauper, vagrant, hobo (chiefly U.S.), vagabond, bag lady (chiefly U.S.), dosser (Brit. slang), starveling Now I am a beggar, having lost everything except life.
verb
1. defy, challenge, defeat, frustrate, foil, baffle, thwart, withstand, surpass, elude, repel The statistics beggar belief.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
beggarnoun
1. One who begs habitually or for a living:
almsman, almswoman, cadger, mendicant.
Informal: panhandler.
Slang: bummer, moocher.
2. An impoverished person:
down-and-out, down-and-outer, have-not, indigent, pauper.
3. One who humbly entreats:
prayer, suitor, suppliant, supplicant.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
TranslationsSelect a language:
mendigomendicante
beggar [ˈbegəʳ]
A. N
1. → mendigo/a m/f, pordiosero/a m/f
beggars can't be choosers → a buen hambre no hay pan duro
2. (= fellow) → tío/a m/f
lucky beggar! → ¡qué suerte tiene el tío/la tía!
poor little beggar! → ¡pobrecito!
B. VT
1. (= ruin) → arruinar
2. (fig) (= exceed) → excederse a
it beggars description → es imposible describirlo
it beggars belief → resulta totalmente inverosímil
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
beg (beg) – past tense, past participle begged – verb
1. to ask (someone) for (money, food etc). The old man was so poor that he had to beg in the street; He begged (me) for money.pedir
2. to ask (someone) desperately or earnestly. I beg you not to do it.suplicarˈbeggar noun
a person who lives by begging. The beggar asked for money for food.mendigo verb
to make very poor. He was beggared by the collapse of his firm.arruinar, reducir a la miseria beggar description
to be so great in some way that it cannot be described. Her beauty beggars description. superar cualquier descripción beg to differ
to disagree. You may think that he should get the job but I beg to differ.estar en desacuerdo, no compartir la misma idea is the mean of blogger