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ask
1[ ask, ahsk ]
verb (used with object)
- to put a question to; inquire of:
I asked him but he didn't answer.
Synonyms: interrogate, question
Antonyms: answer
- to request information about:
to ask the way.
- to try to get by using words; request:
to ask advice; to ask a favor.
- to solicit from; request of:
Could I ask you a favor? Ask her for advice.
- to demand; expect:
What price are they asking? A little silence is all I ask.
- to set a price of:
to ask $20 for the hat.
- to call for; need; require:
This experiment asks patience.
- to invite:
to ask guests to dinner.
- Archaic. to publish (banns).
verb (used without object)
noun
- a question or inquiry.
- a request, especially a demanding one:
Is it too big an ask for you to give me a loan?
Ask
2[ ahsk ]
noun
- the first man, made by the gods from an ash tree.
Ask
1/ ɑːsk /
noun
- Norse myth the first man, created by the gods from an ash tree
ask
2/ ɑːsk /
verb
- often foll by about to put a question (to); request an answer (from)
she asked (him) about God
- tr to inquire about
she asked him the time of the train
she asked the way
- tr to direct or put (a question)
- may take a clause as object or an infinitiveoften foll byfor to make a request or demand
they asked for a deposit
she asked (him) for information
- tr to demand or expect (esp in the phrases ask a lot of, ask too much of )
- Alsoask outask over tr to request (a person) politely to come or go to a place; invite
he asked her to the party
- tr to need; require
the job asks both time and patience
- archaic.tr to proclaim (marriage banns)
noun
- a big ask or a tough ask informal.a task which is difficult to fulfil
Derived Forms
- ˈasker, noun
Other Words From
- asker noun
- un·asking adjective
- un·asking·ly adverb
Word History and Origins
Origin of ask1
Word History and Origins
Origin of ask1
Idioms and Phrases
- ask for it, to risk or invite trouble, danger, punishment, etc., by persisting in some action or manner:
He was asking for it by his abusive remarks.
More idioms and phrases containing ask
- don't ask
- for the asking
Synonym Study
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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