solicitation
Americannoun
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the act of soliciting.
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entreaty, urging, or importunity; a petition or request.
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enticement or allurement.
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Law.
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the crime of asking another to commit or to aid in a crime.
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the act of a prostitute soliciting in a public place.
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of solicitation
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin sollicitātiōn-, stem of sollicitātiō, from sollicitāt(us) “agitated, worried” (past participle of sollicitāre “to excite, agitate, worry”; see solicit) + -iō -ion
Explanation
Solicitation is a request for something, usually money. If you buy a fancy new house, expect a phone call from the local charity with a solicitation for a donation. Solicitation comes from solicit, which means "to request," or "to entreat." So solicitation is the act of requesting. There are three kinds of solicitation. One is asking for money, like when someone goes door-to-door trying to collect money for a cause. In law, solicitation means encouraging someone to commit a crime. Solicitation can also mean making a plea to someone with power to grant a request or favor, like your solicitation to the traffic judge to dismiss your ticket.
Vocabulary lists containing solicitation
Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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The Awakening
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This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for January 2–8, 2021
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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.
That action was in response to news that an internal investigation at Prudential had found “multiple inappropriate cases involving improper investment solicitation and the like by current and former employees” within its Japan operations.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
A solicitation to contractors posted by the agency after the court hearing described a project of modular units of 120 to 390 square feet with bathrooms and kitchenettes.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026
All this for a mere solicitation to buy a Medicare Advantage plan from a big insurer.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 28, 2025
TikTok bans solicitation but the company knows it takes place, moderators have told the BBC.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2025
They played a duet from “Zampa,” and at the earnest solicitation of everyone present followed it with the overture to “The Poet and the Peasant” Allez vous-enl Sapristir shrieked the parrot outside the door.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
