solicitation

American  

[suh-lis-i-tey-shuhn] / səˌlɪs ɪˈteɪ ʃən /

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.

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Other Word Forms

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

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.

Example Sentences

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

The solicitation frames the campaign as an effort to push back on what Newsom has often described as misleading narratives about California.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

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

From MarketWatch • Oct. 28, 2025

Prosecutors had sought an arrest warrant for Han on four charges including improper solicitation and graft, and occupational embezzlement.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025

They played a duet from “Zampa,” and at the earnest solicitation of every one present followed it with the overture to “The Poet and the Peasant.”

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

Related Words

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