Meanings
present singular third person begs off · participle present begging off · participle past begged off · past begged off
- idiomaticTo obtain somebody's permission to skip or cancel an event that one has previously arranged with them.
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.
1 more example
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.
1985 December 7, Christine Guilfoy, Bailus Walker, “Quarantine Is No Way To Fight AIDS”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 21, page 8Synonyms: cry off
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo obtain somebody's permission to skip or cancel an event that one has previously arranged with them.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Cite this entry
beg off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beg%20off
“beg off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beg%20off. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beg off,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beg%20off.
Source: beg off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.