ask
[ ask, ahsk ]
/ æsk, ɑsk /
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verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to make inquiry; inquire: to ask about a person.
to request or petition (usually followed by for): to ask for leniency; to ask for food.
noun
a question or inquiry.
a request, especially a demanding one: Is it too big an ask for you to give me a loan?
OTHER WORDS FOR ask
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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Idioms about ask
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.
Origin of ask
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”
synonym study for ask
10. See inquire.
OTHER WORDS FROM ask
asker, nounun·ask·ing, adjectiveun·ask·ing·ly, adverbOther definitions for ask (2 of 2)
Ask
[ ahsk ]
/ ɑsk /
noun Scandinavian Mythology.
the first man, made by the gods from an ash tree.
Compare Embla.
Origin of Ask
<Old Norse Askr;see ash2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use ask in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for ask (1 of 2)
ask
/ (ɑːsk) /
verb
noun
a big ask or a tough ask British, Australian and NZ informal a task which is difficult to fulfil
Derived forms of ask
asker, nounWord Origin for ask
Old English āscian; related to Old Frisian āskia, Old Saxon ēscon, Old High German eiscōn
British Dictionary definitions for ask (2 of 2)
Ask
/ (ɑːsk) /
noun
Norse myth the first man, created by the gods from an ash tree
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Other Idioms and Phrases with ask
ask
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.