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egg on

egg on
E e

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [eg on, awn]
    • /ɛg ɒn, ɔn/
    • /eɡ ɒn/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [eg on, awn]
    • /ɛg ɒn, ɔn/

Definitions of egg on words

  • verb with object egg on to incite or urge; encourage (usually followed by on). 1
  • transitivephrasal verb egg on encourage, urge 1
  • phrasal verb egg on If you egg a person on, you encourage them to do something, especially something dangerous or foolish. 0
  • verb egg on (Transitive Verb) IDI To encourage or coax a person to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless. 0
See all 4 definitions of egg on

Information block about the term

Origin of egg on

First appearance:

before 1150
One of the 7% oldest English words
1150-1200; Middle English < Old Norse eggja to incite, derivative of egg edge

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Egg on

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Egg on

egg on popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 88% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

egg on usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for egg on

verb egg on

  • agitate — If people agitate for something, they protest or take part in political activity in order to get it.
  • arouse — If something arouses a particular reaction or attitude in people, it causes them to have that reaction or attitude.
  • drive — to send, expel, or otherwise cause to move by force or compulsion: to drive away the flies; to drive back an attacking army; to drive a person to desperation.
  • goad — a stick with a pointed or electrically charged end, for driving cattle, oxen, etc.; prod.
  • incite — to stir, encourage, or urge on; stimulate or prompt to action: to incite a crowd to riot.
All 18 Synonyms of egg on

Antonyms for egg on

verb egg on

  • dissuade — to deter by advice or persuasion; persuade not to do something (often followed by from): She dissuaded him from leaving home.
  • hold back — to elude or evade by a sudden shift of position or by strategy: to dodge a blow; to dodge a question.
  • discourage — to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit.
  • talk out of — dissuade
All 4 Antonyms of egg on

See also

Matching words

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