ASK

ask

(verb) make a request or demand for something to somebody; “She asked him for a loan”

ask, require, expect

(verb) consider obligatory; request and expect; “We require our secretary to be on time”; “Aren’t we asking too much of these children?”; “I expect my students to arrive in time for their lessons”

ask

(verb) direct or put; seek an answer to; “ask a question”

ask, inquire, enquire

(verb) address a question to and expect an answer from; “Ask your teacher about trigonometry”; “The children asked me about their dead grandmother”; “I inquired about their special today”; “He had to ask directions several times”

ask

(verb) require or ask for as a price or condition; “He is asking $200 for the table”; “The kidnappers are asking a million dollars in return for the release of their hostage”

necessitate, ask, postulate, need, require, take, involve, call for, demand

(verb) require as useful, just, or proper; “It takes nerve to do what she did”; “success usually requires hard work”; “This job asks a lot of patience and skill”; “This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice”; “This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert”; “This intervention does not postulate a patient’s consent”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

ask (third-person singular simple present asks, present participle asking, simple past and past participle asked)

To request (information, or an answer to a question).

To put forward (a question) to be answered.

To interrogate or enquire of (a person).

To request or petition; usually with for.

To request permission to do something.

To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.

To invite.

To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.

(figuratively) To take (a person's situation) as an example.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See English catenative verbs

• Pronouncing ask as /æks/ is a common example of metathesis (attested since the Old English period) and still common in some varieties of English, notably African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

• The action expressed by the verb ask can also be expressed by the noun-verb combination pose a question.

Hyponyms

• beg, beseech, demand, enquire, entreat, frain, implore, interrogate, petition, prompt, query, question, request, solicit, supplicate

Noun

ask (plural asks)

An act or instance of asking.

Something asked or asked for; a request.

An asking price.

Etymology 2

Noun

ask (plural asks)

(UK dialectal and Scotland) An eft; newt.

(UK dialectal) A lizard.

Anagrams

• AKs, KAs, KSA, SKA, aks, kas, ska

Etymology 1

Proper noun

Ask

(Norse mythology) The first male human, according to the Poetic Edda.

Etymology 2

Proper noun

Ask

A surname.

Anagrams

• AKs, KAs, KSA, SKA, aks, kas, ska

Noun

ASK (uncountable)

Initialism of amplitude shift keying.

Anagrams

• AKs, KAs, KSA, SKA, aks, kas, ska

Source: Wiktionary


Ask, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asked; p. pr. & vb. n. Asking.] Etym: [OE. asken, ashen, axien, AS. ascian, acsian; akin to OS. escon, OHG. eiscon, Sw. aska, Dan. æske, D. eischen, G. heischen, Lith. jëskóti, OSlav. iskati to seek, Skr. ish to desire. *5.]

1. To request; to seek to obtain by words; to petition; to solicit; - - often with of, in the sense of from, before the person addressed. Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God. Judg. xviii. 5. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John xv. 7.

2. To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity; as, what price do you ask Ask me never so much dowry. Gen. xxxiv. 12. To whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke xii. 48. An exigence of state asks a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity. Addison.

3. To interrogate or inquire of or concerning; to put a question to or about; to question. He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. John ix. 21. He asked the way to Chester. Shak.

4. To invite; as, to ask one to an entertainment.

5. To publish in church for marriage; -- said of both the banns and the persons. Fuller.

Syn.

– To beg; request; seek; petition; solicit; entreat; beseech; implore; crave; require; demand; claim; exhibit; inquire; interrogate. See Beg.

Ask, v. i.

1. To request or petition; -- usually folllowed by for; as, to ask for bread. Ask, and it shall be given you. Matt. vii. 7.

2. To make inquiry, or seek by request; -- sometimes followed by after. Wherefore . . . dost ask after my name Gen. xxxii. 29.

Ask, n. Etym: [See 2d Asker.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: A water newt. [Scot. & North of Eng.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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