ask for

British  

verb

1. to try to obtain by requesting

   he asked for help

2. informal (intr) to behave in a provocative manner that is regarded as inviting (trouble)

   she's asking for trouble

   you're asking for it

3. to ask after

   tell your parents I'm asking for them

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ask for Idioms  

1. Also, ask for it. To persist in an action despite the likelihood that it will bring trouble on oneself, as in Speeding as much as he does, he has been asking for a ticket and Mary deserved that low grade; in effect, she asked for it by not studying. [c. 1900] Also see ask for the moon.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ask for

But Hodgson said: "You cannot just donate something and then ask for it back. That's the whole point of a donation."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Top-performing finance executives typically have a keen sense for how much they can ask for based on factors such as the strength of their business, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

If the auditor is not happy with what a company proposes, the commission can ask for "corrective measures".

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

“This morning, just after midnight, we lost our darling son and brother James, in a motor accident. We respectfully ask for privacy as a family, as we process this profound loss,” the post read.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

But without any high-ranking connections, they didn’t have a way to ask for an exemption to the Red Zone executive order.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

Related Words

• assert
• call for
• claim
• confront
• defy
• demand
• denounce
• impose
• require
• test
• try