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Glite Dictionary
to beg off

to beg off

4 7.0
To ask to be excused from an activity by giving a reason
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : excusarse
  • She had to beg off at the last minute.
  • want to beg off
  • tried to beg off
  • beg off, saying

And they're mad that they didn't just beg off and not get their picture.

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Examples

  • I wanted to see her today, but she begged off.

    Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

  • So it was a great excuse to beg off writing for a few weeks.

    Blog text (31)

  • And now I really must beg off, as I have two tests this afternoon.

    Blog text (16)

  • Listen, would you mind if I begged off?

    Blacula (1972)

  • I hear you're trying to beg off the Oklahoma City trip.

    Dennis the Menace (1993)

  • "I'm going to beg off," Lena says.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I invited him to dine with us tonight, but he begged off.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Although, unfortunately, Seymour was so tired from work that he begged off until the next day.

    Blog text (10)

  • I begged off.

    Hot to Trot (1988)

  • I'm sorry, but I have to beg off our meeting because I have another appointment.

Synonyms

to decline
vsto beg off
272 3.4

To say no politely to an offer or invitation

asks to be excused by offering a reason rather than plain refusal
to back away
vsto beg off
59 3.9

Stop supporting or taking part in a plan because you feel unsure

asks to be excused by giving a reason rather than retreating from doubt
to bow out
vsto beg off
20 4.9

To stop doing a job or role politely

asks to be excused by giving a reason rather than simply exiting

Antonyms

to continue
∞ 1.0

To keep doing something without stopping

to commit
706 3.4

To give time, money, or effort to something

Surface Forms

beg off infinitive
begged off past
begged off past participle
begging off present participle
begs off third person singular

Morphology

beg + off

The verb 'beg' (to plead) plus the particle 'off' (suggesting away/withdrawal) creates a reasonably predictable sense of pleading to be excused or to withdraw from something, so learners who know the parts can often guess the general idea. However, the specific conventionalized phrasal-verb meaning 'ask to be excused' is idiomaticized and the particle 'off' has variable senses, so the exact interpretation may not be fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Beg off may come from the simple image of someone politely asking, with beg meaning to ask and off meaning 'away', to be let off a duty or meeting. So it now means 'to ask to be excused' or to withdraw from a plan.