please

[ pleez ]

/ pliz /

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See synonyms for: please / pleased / pleasing on Thesaurus.com

adverb

(used as a polite addition to requests, commands, etc.) if you would be so obliging; kindly: Please come here. Will you please turn the radio off?

verb (used with object), pleased, pleas·ing.

to act to the pleasure or satisfaction of: to please the public.

to be the pleasure or will of: May it please your Majesty.

verb (used without object), pleased, pleas·ing.

to like, wish, or feel inclined: Go where you please.

to give pleasure or satisfaction; be agreeable: manners that please.

OTHER WORDS FOR please

4 choose, desire, prefer.

See synonyms for please on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about please

if you please,

if it be your pleasure; if you like or prefer.
(used as an exclamation expressing astonishment, indignation, etc.): The missing letter was in his pocket, if you please!

Origin of please

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English plesen, plaisen<Middle French plaisir ≪ 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

OTHER WORDS FROM please

pleas·a·ble, adjectivepleas·ed·ly

[plee-zid-lee, pleezd-], /ˈpli zɪd li, ˈplizd-/, adverbpleas·ed·ness, nounpleaser, noun

half-pleased, adjectiveoutplease, verb (used with object), out·pleased, out·pleas·ing.o·ver·please, verb, o·ver·pleased, o·ver·pleas·ing.self-pleased, adjectiveself-pleaser, nounun·pleas·a·ble, adjectiveun·pleased, adjectivewell-pleased, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH please

pleas, please

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use please in a sentence

Shake Shack (already known for its Linfinite lines) has rolled out a new crowd-pleaser: the Jeremy Lin-Mint shake.
Jeremy Lin Means More Than Wins for the Knicks|Matthew DeLuca|February 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But the little crowd pleaser is having surprising staying power in the race.
Golden Globe Nominations: The Winners and Losers|Richard Rushfield|December 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Expect to hear about this crowd-pleaser again come Oscar time.
'The Descendants,' 'The Muppets,' and Other Thanksgiving Movies to See or Skip|Marlow Stern|November 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Not only is it a crowd-pleaser, but leftovers are great for all sorts of things, from sandwiches to salads.
Fresh Picks|Padma Lakshmi|October 20, 2009|DAILY BEAST

A flesh-pleaser thinks he is undone, when affliction depriveth him of his pleasure.
A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4)|Richard Baxter
I looked back with a feeling of relief to Weston, and my good Polly, who would scorn to be an eye-servant or men-pleaser.
The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 12, No. 72, October, 1863|Various
The signs of a flesh-pleaser or sensualist are these (which may be gathered from what is said already): 1.
A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4)|Richard Baxter
Or are you a too-easy, too-facile man-pleaser and self-seeker, being all things to all men that you may make use of all men?
Bunyan Characters - Third Series|Alexander Whyte

British Dictionary definitions for please

please

/ (pliːz) /

verb

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

if you please if you will or wish, sometimes used in ironic exclamation

pleased with happy because of

please oneself to do as one likes

adverb

(sentence modifier) used in making polite requests and in pleading, asking for a favour, etcplease don't tell the police where I am

yes please a polite formula for accepting an offer, invitation, etc

Derived forms of please

pleasable, adjectivepleased, adjectivepleasedly (ˈpliːzɪdlɪ), adverbpleaser, noun

Word Origin for please

C14 plese, from Old French plaisir, from Latin placēre to please, satisfy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with please

please

see as you please.

please

OTHER WORDS FOR please

Idioms about please

Origin of please

OTHER WORDS FROM please

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH please

Words related to please

How to use please in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for please

Derived forms of please

Word Origin for please

Other Idioms and Phrases with please