What does cadging mean?
Cadging is the present participle of the verb "to cadge," meaning to ask for or obtain things — money, food, drinks, cigarettes, or a lift — from other people in an importunate, sponging manner. It is chiefly a British English term, informal in register, and carries a distinctly disapproving connotation: to accuse someone of cadging is to suggest they habitually live off others' generosity without offering anything in return. Typical collocations include "cadge a lift," "cadge a cigarette," and "cadge money off someone." The verb's origins are uncertain, but it appears to have developed from an earlier sense relating to itinerant dealers or hawkers who carried goods from place to place; the related noun "cadger" survives in this older occupational sense. In modern usage, cadging sits alongside synonyms such as scrounging, sponging, and mooching, all of which share its mildly pejorative edge. It remains a vivid, characterful word for describing free-loading behaviour in everyday speech.
verb (present participle)The present participle of "cadge": asking for or obtaining something, such as money, food, or a lift, from others in a shamelessly importunate or sponging way.
- To ask for or obtain something (money, food, a lift) from others by begging or sponging in an importunate way.
- (Historical/rare) To carry goods about as an itinerant dealer or hawker.
"He spent the evening cadging cigarettes off anyone who would listen."
"She was always cadging lifts home from work instead of taking the bus."
"The old cadger made a living going door to door with his pack of notions."
"Cadge" likely began as the trade name for itinerant peddlers who carried goods on their backs — and somehow came to describe people who carry away your cigarettes without ever buying their own.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cadging
The verb "cadge" first appears in English around the early seventeenth century, though its precise origin is uncertain. It is generally thought to derive from the earlier noun "cadger," attested from the fifteenth century, which denoted an itinerant dealer or carrier of goods — one who "cadged," or transported, wares from town to town. From this trading sense the modern meaning of obtaining things by importunate begging developed. The word's ultimate etymology remains obscure.
Related word forms
How cadging is actually used
Informal and colloquial, especially in British English. The word carries a mildly disapproving, contemptuous connotation, implying the person asks habitually and without embarrassment.
Easily confused with cadging
"Caging" means putting something in a cage, while "cadging" means sponging or begging for things from others.