please
Americanadverb
verb (used with object)
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pleases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pleased,
past participle, past
-
pleasing
present participle
-
to act to the pleasure or satisfaction of.
to please the public.
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to be the pleasure or will of.
May it please your Majesty.
verb (used without object)
-
pleases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pleased,
past participle, past
-
pleasing
present participle
idioms
verb
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to give satisfaction, pleasure, or contentment to (a person); make or cause (a person) to be glad
-
to be the will of or have the will (to)
if it pleases you
the court pleases
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if you will or wish, sometimes used in ironic exclamation
-
happy because of
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to do as one likes
adverb
-
(sentence modifier) used in making polite requests and in pleading, asking for a favour, etc
please don't tell the police where I am
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a polite formula for accepting an offer, invitation, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pleasednessnoun
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pleasernoun
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overpleaseverb
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outpleaseverb (used with object)
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half-pleasedadjective
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pleasableadjective
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pleasedadjective
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self-pleasedadjective
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unpleasableadjective
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unpleasedadjective
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well-pleasedadjective
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pleasedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pleasesimple
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pleasessimple
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have pleasedperfect
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has pleasedperfect
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am pleasingprogressive
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are pleasingprogressive
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is pleasingprogressive
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have been pleasingperfect progressive
-
has been pleasingperfect progressive
Past
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pleasedsimple
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had pleasedperfect
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was pleasingprogressive
-
were pleasingprogressive
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had been pleasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of please
First recorded in 1275–1325; (verb) Middle English plesen, plaisen, from Middle French plaisir, ultimately from Latin placēre “to please, seem good” ( see placid); the use of please with requests, etc., is presumably a reduction of the clause (it) please you “may it please you,” later reinforced by imperative use of intransitive please to be pleased, wish
Explanation
To please someone is to give them pleasure or to make them happy. This is also a word for polite requests like, "Could you please pass the milk?" Have you ever been asked "What's the magic word"? It's please, a small word that makes any request more polite. Saying please is sure to please just about everyone, although different things please different people. Turning in your homework on time will please your teachers, while a good belly rub and some extra treats will please your dog.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And please, all you Spencer Pratt toadies, don’t send me your whiny little notes about how he was the guy all along.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
“Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” she texted Deters, adding a prayer hands emoji and a PDF with bill payment instructions from American Express.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
And please, don’t send me your robot music.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
He has asked anyone who was around Erconwald Street, Braybrook Street, the surrounding roads or Wormwood Scrubs playground between 18:00 and 20:00, to "please think carefully about what you saw".
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
“You’re right, sweetheart. I like how you look on the bright side. Now please, play some happy songs too. Your abuela’s songs are so weepy.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Some AI initiatives may take longer to manifest in a way that pleases investors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
This isn’t just teenage dramatics: Elephant seals don’t hunt or eat as they molt, so he’s hungry and tired and will sleep wherever he damn pleases.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
Julia would in theory be free to marry whom she pleases, but she’s her father’s daughter: Worldly success means as much to her as it does to him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
It's sure to be a finale that pleases some fans and has others wanting more.
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026
It pleases me to know that her taboo message made it through, to at least one other person, washed itself up on the wall of my cupboard, was opened and read by me.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
And Donte King, whose family endures racism both subtle and blatant, praises the filmmakers’ attempts to humanize people with contrasting viewpoints, saying he was pleased with getting to tell his story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Christopher Mosby was pleased to find Starlink Wi-Fi available on his United Airlines flight from Chicago to Denver earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The older brother has always been able to do as he pleased.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Britain's Northern Ireland minister Chris Bryant said he was pleased weekend events passed "without major incident" and maintained that a mutually acceptable solution remained possible.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
“Of course! She’ll be as pleased with the assistance as I am.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
"When Microsoft and Amazon do business here in NSW, it's pleasing to see they are committed to providing some of their more skilled operations and locating them here," he says.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Herbert and the starting offense, though, made sure they left something pleasing on film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
When Ritchson isn’t barreling through that summertime face-punching tour, he fronts pleasing if unchallenging straight-to-streaming romps like “Playdate” and “War Machine.”
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Beautifully shot and sonically pleasing are its biggest pluses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
They were powerful and puzzling and even fearsome, but also they could do pleasing things.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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