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Beg vs. Bag — What's the Difference?

By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on November 7, 2023
'Beg' means to ask for something earnestly or humbly, while 'Bag' is a container or to capture something or someone.
Beg vs. Bag — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Beg and Bag

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Key Differences

'Beg' is a verb that implies asking for something earnestly or humbly, often out of desperation or necessity. It involves soliciting help, money, or favor when in a position of lesser power or authority. Conversely, 'Bag' primarily functions as a noun, referring to a flexible container used for carrying items; it can also be a verb meaning to capture or obtain something.
While 'Beg' carries a sense of urgency and need, often associated with poverty or lack, 'Bag' is a commonplace term with utilitarian connotations, related to shopping, storage, or the act of securing something. As a verb, to 'bag' something means to succeed in securing it, like an achievement or hunting a game, unlike 'Beg,' which does not imply success but rather the action of pleading.
The usage of 'Beg' is often seen as a sign of weakness or in a derogatory sense when someone is subservient, requesting something they cannot achieve on their own. 'Bag,' when used as a verb, indicates a successful action, such as when one says they have 'bagged' a job or a deal, showcasing achievement or skill.
In terms of linguistics, 'Beg' can be used in an idiomatic sense, such as in the phrase "beggars can't be choosers," which implies that one with no other options must be content with what is offered. 'Bag' has idiomatic expressions too, like "let the cat out of the bag," which means to reveal a secret unintentionally.
Finally, 'Beg' may also be part of phrasal verbs or expressions, like 'beg off,' meaning to ask to be released from an obligation. 'Bag,' as a verb, can be paired with adverbs to form phrases like 'bag up,' meaning to put items into bags, showing diverse utility in everyday language.
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Comparison Chart

Part of Speech

Verb
Noun/Verb

Contextual Connotation

Humility, need
Utility, achievement

Typical Usage

Requesting earnestly
Carrying or obtaining

Implied Power Dynamics

Lower position
Neutral or successful act

Idiomatic Expressions

"Beggars can't be choosers"
"Let the cat out of the bag"

Compare with Definitions

Beg

To ask for something humbly
He begged for forgiveness.

Bag

A container for carrying things
She packed her groceries into a paper bag.

Beg

To evade or avoid
He begged the question during the debate.

Bag

To shape something like a bag
The dress bags at the waist.

Beg

To ask (someone) for something in an urgent or humble manner
Begged me for help.
Begged me to give him the phone number.

Bag

To claim something for oneself
He bagged the best seat at the concert.

Beg

To ask for (something) in an urgent or humble manner
Beg someone's forgiveness.
Beg a favor.

Bag

A bag (also known regionally as a sack) is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being no more than lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material.Despite their simplicity, bags have been fundamental for the development of human civilization, as they allow people to easily collect loose materials such as berries or food grains, and to transport more items than could readily be carried in the hands.

Beg

To ask for (food or money, for instance) as a beggar.

Bag

A container of flexible material, such as paper, plastic, or leather, that is used for carrying or storing items.

Beg

To ask (permission) to do something
Begged leave to attend the ceremony.

Bag

A handbag; a purse.

Beg

To evade; dodge
A speech that begged the real issues.

Bag

A piece of hand luggage, such as a suitcase or satchel.

Beg

To take for granted without proof
Beg the point in a dispute.

Bag

A pouchlike or sagging organ or part of the body, such as a cow's udder.

Beg

To ask for something, especially money or food from strangers, in an urgent or humble manner.

Bag

An object that resembles a pouch.

Beg

To live as a beggar.

Bag

(Nautical) The sagging or bulging part of a sail.

Beg

To make an urgent or humble plea
Beg for mercy.

Bag

The amount that a bag can hold.

Beg

(intransitive) To request the help of someone, often in the form of money.
He begged on the street corner from passers-by.

Bag

An amount of game taken or legally permitted to be taken.

Beg

(transitive) To plead with someone for help, a favor, etc.; to entreat.
I beg your pardon. I didn’t mean to cause offence.
He begged her to go to the prom with him.

Bag

(Baseball) A base.

Beg

(transitive) To unwillingly provoke a negative, often violent, reaction.

Bag

(Slang) An area of interest or skill
Cooking is not my bag.

Beg

(transitive) In the phrase beg the question: to assume.

Bag

(Slang) A woman considered ugly or unkempt.

Beg

In the phrase beg the question: to raise (a question).
Set aside

Bag

To put into a bag
Bag groceries.

Beg

To ask to be appointed guardian for, or to ask to have a guardian appointed for.

Bag

To cause to bulge like a pouch.

Beg

The act of begging; an imploring request.

Bag

To capture or kill as game
Bagged six grouse.

Beg

A provincial governor under the Ottoman Empire; a bey.

Bag

To gain; acquire
He bagged a profit from the sale.

Beg

A title of honor in Turkey and in some other parts of the East; a bey.

Bag

To capture or arrest
Was bagged for trespassing.

Beg

To ask earnestly for; to entreat or supplicate for; to beseech.
I do beg your good will in this case.
[Joseph] begged the body of Jesus.

Bag

To accomplish or achieve
Bagged a birdie with a long putt.

Beg

To ask for as a charity, esp. to ask for habitually or from house to house.
Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Bag

To fail to attend purposely; skip
Bagged classes for the day and went to the beach.

Beg

To make petition to; to entreat; as, to beg a person to grant a favor.

Bag

To stop doing or considering; abandon
Bagged the idea and started from scratch.

Beg

To take for granted; to assume without proof.

Bag

To terminate the employment of.

Beg

To ask to be appointed guardiln for, or to aso to havo a guardian appointed for.
Else some will beg thee, in the court of wards.

Bag

To pack items in a bag.

Beg

To ask alms or charity, especially to ask habitually by the wayside or from house to house; to live by asking alms.
I can not dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Bag

To hang loosely
The pants bag at the knees.

Beg

Call upon in supplication; entreat;
I beg you to stop!

Bag

To swell out; bulge.

Beg

Make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently;
Henry IV solicited the Pope for a divorce
My neighbor keeps soliciting money for different charities

Bag

A soft container made out of cloth, paper, thin plastic, etc. and open at the top, used to hold food, commodities, and other goods.

Beg

Ask to obtain free;
Beg money and food

Bag

A container made of leather, plastic, or other material, usually with a handle or handles, in which you carry personal items, or clothes or other things that you need for travelling. Includes shopping bags, schoolbags, suitcases, and handbags.

Beg

To make a desperate plea
She begged for help during the crisis.

Bag

(colloquial) One's preference.
Acid House is not my bag: I prefer the more traditional styles of music.

Beg

To ask earnestly or urgently
I beg you to reconsider.

Bag

(derogatory) An ugly woman.

Beg

To plead for charity
The man begged on the street.

Bag

A fellow gay man.

Bag

(baseball) The cloth-covered pillow used for first, second, and third base.
The grounder hit the bag and bounced over the fielder’s head.

Bag

(baseball) First, second, or third base.
He headed back to the bag.

Bag

(preceded by "the") A breathalyzer, so named because it formerly had a plastic bag over the end to measure a set amount of breath.

Bag

(mathematics) A collection of objects, disregarding order, but (unlike a set) in which elements may be repeated.
A bag of three apples could be represented symbolically as {a,a,a}. Or, letting 'r' denote 'red apple' and 'g' denote 'green apple', then a bag of three red apples and two green apples could be denoted as {r,r,r,g,g}.

Bag

A sac in animal bodies, containing some fluid or other substance.
The bag of poison in the mouth of some serpents
The bag of a cow

Bag

A pouch tied behind a man's head to hold the back-hair of a wig; a bag wig.

Bag

The quantity of game bagged in a hunt.

Bag

A scrotum.

Bag

(UK) A unit of measure of cement equal to 94 pounds.

Bag

A dark circle under the eye, caused by lack of sleep, drug addiction etc.

Bag

(slang) A small envelope that contains drugs, especially narcotics.

Bag

£1000, a grand.

Bag

(informal) A large number or amount.

Bag

(transitive) To put into a bag.

Bag

(transitive) To take with oneself, to assume into one's score

Bag

(informal) To catch or kill, especially when fishing or hunting.
We bagged three deer yesterday.

Bag

To gain possession of something, or to make first claim on something.

Bag

(slang) To steal.

Bag

To take a woman away with one as a romantic or sexual interest.

Bag

(slang) To arrest.

Bag

(transitive) To furnish or load with a bag.

Bag

To provide with artificial ventilation via a bag valve mask (BVM) resuscitator.

Bag

To fit with a bag to collect urine.

Bag

To expose exterior shape or physical behaviour resembling that of a bag

Bag

To (cause to) swell or hang down like a full bag.
The skin bags from containing morbid matter.
The brisk wind bagged the sails.

Bag

To hang like an empty bag.
His trousers bag at the knees.

Bag

To drop away from the correct course.

Bag

To become pregnant.

Bag

To forget, ignore, or get rid of.

Bag

To show particular puffy emotion

Bag

To swell with arrogance.

Bag

To laugh uncontrollably.

Bag

To criticise sarcastically.

Bag

A sack or pouch, used for holding anything; as, a bag of meal or of money.

Bag

A sac, or dependent gland, in animal bodies, containing some fluid or other substance; as, the bag of poison in the mouth of some serpents; the bag of a cow.

Bag

A sort of silken purse formerly tied about men's hair behind, by way of ornament.

Bag

The quantity of game bagged.

Bag

A certain quantity of a commodity, such as it is customary to carry to market in a sack; as, a bag of pepper or hops; a bag of coffee.

Bag

To put into a bag; as, to bag hops.

Bag

To seize, capture, or entrap; as, to bag an army; to bag game.

Bag

To furnish or load with a bag or with a well filled bag.
A bee bagged with his honeyed venom.

Bag

To swell or hang down like a full bag; as, the skin bags from containing morbid matter.

Bag

To swell with arrogance.

Bag

To become pregnant.

Bag

A flexible container with a single opening;
He stuffed his laundry into a large bag

Bag

The quantity of game taken in a particular period (usually by one person);
His bag included two deer

Bag

Place that runner must touch before scoring;
He scrambled to get back to the bag

Bag

A bag used for carrying money and small personal items or accessories (especially by women);
She reached into her bag and found a comb

Bag

The quantity that a bag will hold;
He ate a large bag of popcorn

Bag

A portable rectangular traveling bag for carrying clothes;
He carried his small bag onto the plane with him

Bag

An ugly or ill-tempered woman;
He was romancing the old bag for her money

Bag

Mammary gland of bovids (cows and sheep and goats)

Bag

An activity that you like or at which you are superior;
Chemistry is not my cup of tea
His bag now is learning to play golf
Marriage was scarcely his dish

Bag

Capture or kill, as in hunting;
Bag a few pheasants

Bag

Hang loosely, like an empty bag

Bag

Bulge out; form a bulge outward, or be so full as to appear to bulge

Bag

Take unlawfully

Bag

Put into a bag;
The supermarket clerk bagged the groceries

Bag

To capture or secure something
He bagged the winning goal.

Bag

To succeed in obtaining
She bagged the top spot in the competition.

Common Curiosities

Is "Beg" ever used as a noun?

It's not commonly used as a noun in modern English.

Are there any common phrases with "Bag"?

Yes, "bag of tricks" is a common phrase.

What is the base form of "Beg"?

The base form is "Beg."

Can "Bag" be pluralized?

Yes, the plural form is "Bags."

Can "Beg" be used informally?

Yes, it can be used informally.

Is "Beg" related to "Beggar"?

Yes, "Beggar" is a noun derived from the verb "Beg."

Is "Bag" a transitive or intransitive verb?

As a verb, "Bag" is usually transitive.

Does "Beg" have a past participle?

Yes, the past participle is "Begged."

Can "Bag" be used metaphorically?

Yes, e.g., "He bagged the role in the movie."

Does "Beg" have different meanings?

Yes, it can mean to plead or to avoid a topic.

Can "Bag" refer to anything other than a container?

Yes, it can refer to game captured in hunting.

Are there compound words with "Bag"?

Yes, like "handbag" or "sleeping bag."

Can "Beg" imply an imperative request?

Yes, "Beg" can be used to give a strong imperative, like "I beg you to stop!"

Is "Begging" the continuous tense of "Beg"?

Yes, "Begging" is the present participle of "Beg."

Can "Bag" be used as a slang term?

Yes, "Bag" can be slang for to capture or claim something.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Tayyaba Rehman
Tayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.

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