ask

[ask, ahsk] /æsk, ɑsk/
verb (used with object)
1.
to put a question to; inquire of:
I asked him but he didn't answer.
2.
to request information about:
to ask the way.
3.
to try to get by using words; request:
to ask advice; to ask a favor.
4.
to solicit from; request of:
Could I ask you a favor? Ask her for advice.
5.
to demand; expect:
What price are they asking? A little silence is all I ask.
6.
to set a price of:
to ask $20 for the hat.
7.
to call for; need; require:
This experiment asks patience.
8.
to invite:
to ask guests to dinner.
9.
Archaic. to publish (banns).
verb (used without object)
10.
to make inquiry; inquire:
to ask about a person.
11.
to request or petition (usually followed by for):
to ask for leniency; to ask for food.
Idioms
12.
ask for it, to risk or invite trouble, danger, punishment, etc., by persisting in some action or manner:
He was asking for it by his abusive remarks.
Origin
before 900; Middle English asken, axen, Old English āscian, āxian; cognate with Old Frisian āskia, Old Saxon ēscon, Old High German eiscōn (German heischen), Sanskrit icchati (he) seeks
Related forms
asker, noun
unasking, adjective
unaskingly, adverb
Can be confused
acts, ask, axe.
Synonyms
1. question, interrogate. 3, 11. sue, appeal. 4. beseech, beg, entreat. 10. See inquire.
Antonyms
1, 10. answer.

Ask

[ahsk] /ɑsk/
noun, Scandinavian Mythology
1.
the first man, made by the gods from an ash tree.
Compare Embla.
Origin
< Old Norse Askr; see ash2
Examples from the web for ask
  • If the lawyer is not willing to ask the question openly, then he or she should not be permitted to ask it on the sly.
  • Always spin your weakness into something positive if they ask that dreaded question about your weakness.
  • Students in elementary, middle, and high school are invited to use this form to ask our current featured reporter a question.
  • ask a question by clicking on the chat link and typing your question there.
  • Indeed, those who ask how the movie industry can possibly make sense are asking the wrong question.
  • To ask a general question, e-mail us using this form.
  • Entrepreneurs who want to enter this world must perform due diligence and ask questions.
  • ask all of your interviewers to identify themselves before speaking.
  • The second simply wants to be the best walker any dog could ask for.
  • ask students if they think that whales are the only creatures that use this water.
British Dictionary definitions for ask

ask

/ɑːsk/
verb
1.
(often foll by about) to put a question (to); request an answer (from): she asked (him) about God
2.
(transitive) to inquire about: she asked him the time of the train, she asked the way
3.
(transitive) to direct or put (a question)
4.
(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) often foll by for. to make a request or demand: she asked (him) for information, they asked for a deposit
5.
(transitive) to demand or expect (esp in the phrases ask a lot of, ask too much of)
6.
(transitive) Also ask out, ask over. to request (a person) politely to come or go to a place; invite: he asked her to the party
7.
(transitive) to need; require: the job asks both time and patience
8.
(transitive) (archaic) to proclaim (marriage banns)
noun
9.
(Brit & Austral, NZ, informal) a big ask, a tough ask, a task which is difficult to fulfil
See also ask after, ask for
Derived Forms
asker, noun
Word Origin
Old English āscian; related to Old Frisian āskia, Old Saxon ēscon, Old High German eiscōn

Ask

/ɑːsk/
noun
1.
(Norse myth) the first man, created by the gods from an ash tree
Word Origin and History for ask
v.

Old English ascian "ask, call for an answer; make a request," from earlier ahsian, from Proto-Germanic *aiskojan (cf. Old Saxon escon, Old Frisian askia "request, demand, ask," Middle Dutch eiscen, Dutch eisen "to ask, demand," Old High German eiscon "to ask (a question)," German heischen "to ask, demand"), from PIE *ais- "to wish, desire" (cf. Sanskrit icchati "seeks, desires," Armenian aic "investigation," Old Church Slavonic iskati "to seek," Lithuanian ieškau "to seek").

Form in English influenced by a Scandinavian form of the word (cf. Danish æske; the Old English would have evolved by normal sound changes into ash, esh, which was a Midlands and s.w. England dialect form). Modern dialectal ax is as old as Old English acsian and was an accepted literary variant until c.1600. Related: Asked; asking. Old English also had fregnan/frignan which carried more directly the sense of "question, inquire," and is from PIE root *prek-, the common source of words for "ask" in most Indo-European languages (see pray). If you ask me "in my opinion" is attested from 1910. Asking price is attested from 1755.

ask in Technology

Amplitude Shift Keying
Idioms and Phrases with ask

ask

, see