# begets

/bɪˈɡɛts/ (US) · /bɪɡˈɛts/ (UK) · CEFR C2 · Verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/begets
Updated: 2026-10-18

## Definition

to cause something to happen or to create something new. You often see it when one bad thing leads to another.

For teachers: to cause, produce, or give rise to something, originally to father a child. Now chiefly literary for one condition or action producing another.

## Examples

- Violence begets more violence in the end.
- Poor planning begets delays that frustrate both workers and customers.
- In his lecture, the historian argued that unchecked power begets resentment that eventually undermines the very order it claims to protect.

## Usage notes

- Third-person singular present of 'beget'; transitive and takes a direct object.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.