begat

[bih-gat] / bɪˈgæt /

VERB

create, bear

Synonyms

STRONGEST

bring about engender sire

STRONG

afford breed bring cause effect father generate get multiply occasion procreate produce propagate reproduce

WEAK

give rise to progenerate result in

Antonyms

STRONGEST

halt kill stop

STRONG

destroy fail leave

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.

Like Leo, it begat a procession of memes solely based on our first glimpse of Jude Law as Pope Pius XIII, the fictional first U.S.-born pontiff, played by a British actor.

From Salon • May 10, 2025

But that broken leg also begat the greatest comeback in NFL history and led to one of the gifts Smith gave Washington football fans — a rare Thanksgiving Day win over the Dallas Cowboys.

From Washington Times • Nov. 22, 2023

Buffett and his music — and the empire they begat — became pivotal figures in that claiming and invention.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 3, 2023

Grandchildren begat great-grandchildren begat great-great grandchildren, and she cooked for us into her 90s.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 11, 2023

In fact, rather than Pythagoras’s triangle, there was a circle, or a cycle, at work: form begat information, and then information begat form.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee