solicitation

[suh-lis-i-tey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of soliciting.

2. entreaty, urging, or importunity; a petition or request.

3. enticement or allurement.

4. Law.

   1. the crime of asking another to commit or to aid in a crime.

   2. the act of a prostitute soliciting in a public place.

Other Word Forms

• nonsolicitation noun
• presolicitation noun
• resolicitation noun
• supersolicitation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of solicitation¹

First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin sollicitātiōn-, stem of sollicitātiō, from sollicitāt(us) “agitated, worried” (past participle of sollicitāre “to excite, agitate, worry”; solicit ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

The county set up a hotline for tips from the public, and moved to ban “predatory solicitation” outside county social services offices.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

After the August posting of the search, the museum reportedly received about 17 resumes, “mostly unqualified,” the letter said, before direct solicitations to professional associates in the field eventually surfaced two potential names.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to explore creating a “buffer zone” outside county offices, prohibiting certain types of “aggressive” solicitation toward people seeking food stamps and cash aid.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

All this for a mere solicitation to buy a Medicare Advantage plan from a big insurer.

Read more on MarketWatch

The Supreme Court has defined commercial speech as communication of the “terms of an actual or potential transaction” that has an “economic motivation”—for example, credit-card solicitations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• application 
• bid 
• call 
• claim 
• demand 
• overture 
• petition 
• plea 
• proposal 
• question 
• suit