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Synonyms

beg off

British  

verb

  1. (intr, adverb) to ask to be released from an engagement, obligation, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
beg off Idioms  

  1. Ask to be released from an obligation; turn down an invitation. For example, He's asked me out to dinner three times already, but I have to beg off again, or Mother couldn't take on another committee and so she begged off. [Early 1700s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

So I think we shouldn't beg off the responsibility to understand it.

From Salon • Sep. 10, 2024

McCann, then 30, told them he needed to beg off.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 21, 2023

Just make enough plans for it not to feel weird — and actually show up for them, too, through the temptation to beg off and stay home instead.

From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2022

I had the beginnings of a sore throat and used that as an excuse to beg off.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2021

She stared at me for a long moment, and I half expected her to beg off.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.