1. One who solicits alms for a living.
2. An impoverished person; a pauper.
3. Informal. A man or a boy.

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.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.