ask
verb (used with object)
to put a question to; inquire of.
ask
1 American
[ask, ahsk]
/ æsk, ɑsk /
verb (used with object)
-
asks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
asked,
past participle, past
-
asking
present participle
-
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)
-
asks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
asked,
past participle, past
-
asking
present participle
noun
-
a question or inquiry.
-
a request, especially a demanding one.
Is it too big an ask for you to give me a loan?
idioms
Ask
2
American
[ahsk]
/ ɑsk /
noun
Scandinavian Mythology.
ask
1
British
/ 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)
-
to make a request or demand
she asked (him) for information
they asked for a deposit
-
(tr) to demand or expect (esp in the phrases ask a lot of, ask too much of )
-
Also: ask out, ask 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
Ask
2
British
/ ɑːsk /
noun
ask
More Idioms
Usage
What is a basic definition of ask? Ask is a verb that means to present a question to someone, to request something, or to invite someone. Ask has several other senses as a verb and a noun. If you are asking someone something, you usually want answers from them. When asking about something, you might pose several questions or politely request information about something.
- Real-life examples: Students ask teachers questions about things that confuse them. If you forget your watch, you might ask someone what time it is. You might need to ask a store employee where the bathroom is.
- Used in a sentence: We asked the teacher which chapters would be on the test.
- Real-life examples: Children ask Santa Claus for presents at Christmas. Your mom asks you to clean your room. When you love someone, you might ask them to marry you.
- Used in a sentence: I asked Bill if I could borrow his shovel.
- Real-life examples: You can ask your friends over for a party. Your grandparents might ask you to come and visit.
- Used in a sentence: Jin asked Maria out for a date on Saturday.
Synonym Usage
See inquire.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
asksimple
-
askssimple
-
have askedperfect
-
has askedperfect
-
am askingprogressive
-
are askingprogressive
-
is askingprogressive
-
have been askingperfect progressive
-
has been askingperfect progressive
Past
-
askedsimple
-
had askedperfect
-
was askingprogressive
-
were askingprogressive
-
had been askingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ask1
First recorded before 900; Middle English asken, axen, Old English āscian, āxian; cognate with Old Frisian āskia, Old Saxon ēscon, Old High German eiscōn ( German heischen ), Sanskrit icchati “(he) seeks”
Origin of Ask2
< Old Norse Askr; see ash 2
Explanation
To ask is to pose a question or request something. If you say "What time is lunch?", then you're asking a question. You've probably heard people say "Can I ask you a question?" That pretty much sums up what asking is: trying to get information or make a request. A teacher asks students to answer questions, but a student has to ask the teacher for permission to use the bathroom. In business, the asking price is the amount the seller wants you to pay. Asking is how you find things out and get what you need.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The senators’ letters ask State Farm, Allstate and others to disclose the breakdown of home and auto claims they have closed without payment, including how many were formally denied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
They ask what are the priorities, what are the things we do that are crucial and which are less important?
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
However, over a year later, he tested the market with an ask of $145 million for his property in Seminole Beach Estate.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Investors should ask how a loan holds up if chip-resale values, utilization and rental rates fall together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
"But, Your Honor, ask him to show you what he made. The capes are so little they are useless. They are only good for children to play with."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Ask her what it means to be able to support members of her family.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Ask about Coventry City - what do you want to know?
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
That’s what you do when you go somewhere new: Ask someone who knows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Ask anyone who ran a campaign in 2008, or in 2022, when giving dropped in real terms right alongside portfolios.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
“Report back to the Park tomorrow. Ask for Commander Bradley. He will provide further information and orders.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
A young woman asks if she still has time to pick up a delivery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
"It's a bit chicken and egg. Did Spain distance itself from European allies, or did they distance themselves from us?" asks Victor Cortizo, a lawyer and academic specialising in Sino-Spanish relations.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Walker’s estate asks why her life was worth so much less to the defendants than her pregnancy was.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
After each pitch, the host asks audience members to hold up their paddle, which has a green thumbs up and a red thumbs down to indicate whether they agree or disagree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Hannah asks as we walk toward an awning.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Meanwhile, she and Gowan consulted an attorney, who asked whether the rules around discussion topics had been written down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Prosecutors in L.A. had asked for a nearly five-year prison sentence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Is this evidence that maybe the court is finally doing the thing we’ve asked it to do, which is police its own conflicts?
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
He said the platform providers would be asked about the report and "what appears to be, in some cases, arguable delay and failures to remove the material even when it had been reported to them".
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
She nods and says when she was my age, that’s what she would have asked for, too.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
In fairness, Roberts did seem to recognize some problems with the breadth of the immunity that the oil companies were asking for, as did Justice Gorsuch.
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026
Now she’s returning the favor by asking a German state leader to grease the organizing wheels for the UAW at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Ala.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Average rents have nearly doubled over the past decade while asking prices have risen about 90 percent, according to property website Idealista.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
A few years ago, a campaign was launched urging employers to stop asking new recruits how much they were paid in their previous jobs.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
If there was one thing I was sure of, it was that there was no point asking what she was writing about.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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.
