Begged to figure among those looked for (8)
I believe the answer is:
besought
'begged' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'figure among those looked for' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'looked for' could be 'sought' ('seek' can be a synonym of 'look for') and 'sought' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'be' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for besought that I've seen before include "Earnestly entreated" , "Asked" , "Begged, pleaded with" , "Prayed" , "Entreated, begged" .)