ask for

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

When Jones asked for a stay of her order until Monday, the judge declined, stating, “I’m not going to leave him in jail over the weekend.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

BBC News approached the charity to ask for a comment in light of the latest controversy surrounding Andrew and Epstein, but it has not responded.

Read more on BBC

The Federal Bureau of Investigation traced the Snapchat account to Hartheimer’s apartment in Memphis before asking for an arrest warrant from a judge, the affidavit says.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In March, the players signed a letter sent to the four majors asking for a meeting.

Read more on BBC

For a high-powered pharma chief, she’s remarkably in tune with how the average person feels, which is what angers Teddy so much when Michelle continuously asks for an honest conversation.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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