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

"Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted," he wrote.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

"Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down," he wrote.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Frank Garza said, as many perpetrators only communicate through burner social media accounts or ask for money through difficult-to-trace platforms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

And then if you work for a CEO you trust, bring your ambition to them, and ask for support, but don’t be entitled to it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Of all the creatures in the world that he had to ask for help, it had to be spiders.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Related Words

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