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

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

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Now Bob Chesney and the Bruins ask for patience as they work through their early hiccups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Patrick and I quickly ask for a meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

“Your father knows I can. I think that’s why he told the king. He didn’t think he would take you away. He thought the king would just ask for more gold.”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Related Words

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