egg on
B2 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To push someone into doing something silly or dangerous by cheering them on.
Meanings
1 B2
idiomatic
informal
To encourage or provoke someone to do something risky, foolish, or unwise.
"His classmates egged him on to jump off the high diving board, even though he was afraid."
"The crowd egged him on."
— Commonly attributed to descriptions of Julius Caesar's death in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (paraphrase), and widely used in modern journalism and commentary.
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Strongly implies that the action being encouraged is unwise, dangerous, or mischievous. Often associated with peer pressure or crowd behaviour. The 'egg' here comes from the Old Norse 'eggja' meaning to incite — it is not related to the food. Common in both British and American English.
Commonly used with
friends crowd fight dare mischief foolish act
Forms
Base
egg on
I/you/we/they
3rd person
eggs on
he/she/it
Past simple
egged on
yesterday
Past participle
egged on
have + pp
-ing form
egging on
continuous
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