ask

present singular third person asks · participle present asking · participle past asked · past asked · dialectal first person present singular aks · first person past singular asked · dialectal first person past singular aksed · archaic present second person singular askest · past second person singular asked · archaic past second person singular askedst · present singular third person asks · dialectal present singular third person aks · dialectal present singular third person akses · archaic present singular third person asketh · past singular third person asked · dialectal past singular third person aksed

1. To request or petition.
   1. intransitivetransitiveTo request (information, or an answer to a question).

      I asked her age.

      2 more examples

      I didn't know the answer so I asked.

      Everyone always asks what my advice is, and my advice is don’t overintellectualize your art.

      2022 October 14, Justin Curto, “The 1975’s Matty Healy Prefers Writing Lyrics He’s Afraid Of”, in Vulture, archived from the original on 18 Oct 2022

   2. ditransitivetransitiveTo request or enquire of (a person).

      I asked her (for) her age.

      3 more examples

      I’m going to ask this lady (for) directions.

      If you want to know, ask her.

      Ask him that he tell her —No need to, she'll already know by know.

   3. transitiveusuallyTo request (an item or service) (see also ask for).

      to ask a favour

      5 more examples

      to ask for a second helping at dinner

      to ask for help with homework

      If you want help, you only have to ask.

      Ask, and it shall be given you.

      1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 7:7

      Services during Yom Kippur are held continuously through the day and include readings from the Torah and the reciting of prayers expressing regret or asking for forgiveness.

      2019 October 8, Christina Maxouris and Doug Criss, “Everything you wanted to know about Yom Kippur”, in CNN

   4. transitiveTo request (someone to do something).

      Emma asked Jim to close his eyes.

   5. To request permission (to do something).

      Did you ask to use the car?

      1 more example

      She asked to see the doctor.

2. To put forward (a question) to be answered.

   to ask a riddle

   2 more examples

   to ask a question

   He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 9:21

3. To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.

   What price are you asking for the house?

   2 more examples

   It’s asking a lot of this old car to make it all the way up to Scotland.

   But in any Exigence of State, like that they are now pressed with, it certainly asks a much longer time to conduct any Design, for the Good of the Common-wealth, to its Maturity and Perfection.

   1705, J[oseph] Addison, Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

4. To invite.

   Don’t ask them to the wedding.

5. figurativelychiefly continuous aspectTo indirectly encourage or make more likely (an undesirable outcome).

   Walking around with such an expensive watch is asking to be mugged.

6. To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
7. figurativelyTo take (a person's situation) as an example.

   Even when the damage isn't that clear cut, the intangible burdens of a bad image can add up. Just ask Dow Chemical.

   1990 April 26, Paul Wiseman, “Dark days”, in USA Today

plural asks · alternative aks · alternative ax · alternative obsolete aske

1. informalAn act or instance of asking.

   That really does not seem much of an ask.

   2022 December 14, Christian Wolmar, “No Marston Vale line trains... and no one in charge seems to 'give a damn'”, in RAIL, number 972, page 46

   1 more example

   To ask for a gift is a privilege, a wonderful expression of commitment to and ownership of the organization. Getting a yes to an ask can be a rush, but asking for the gift can and should be just as rewarding.

   2005, Laura Fredricks, The ask

2. informalSomething asked or asked for.

   I know this is a big ask, but …

   1 more example

   Communication researchers call this the foot-in-the-door syndrome. Essentially it's based on the observation that people who respond positively to a small “ask” are more likely to respond to a bigger “ask” later on.

   2008, Doug Fields, Duffy Robbins, Speaking to Teenagers

   Synonyms: request

3. informalAn asking price.

   The buy prices are a bit higher than the sell prices; the difference between the buy/sell is called bid/ask spread. If you are selling a stock, you’ll get the bid price; if you are buying a stock, you’ll get the ask price.

   2018, David Borman, Day Trading 101, page 12

4. InternetinformalA message sent to a blog on social networking platform Tumblr, which can be publicly posted and replied to by the recipient.

   The following example from Black Mental Health illustrates an ask from an anonymous follower seeking social support: […]

   2018, Lynette Kvasny, Fay Cobb Payton, “African American Youth Tumbling Toward Mental Health Support-Seeking and Positive Academic Outcomes”, in Amanda Ochsner, William G. Tierney, Zoë B. Corwin, editors, Diversifying Digital Learning: Online Literacy and Educational Opportunity, page 168

   2 more examples

   Answering 'asks' like this is one common way that Tumblr bloggers interact with their followers, so it is in the act of publicly answering these asks that I examine community building practices.

   2017, Abigail Oakley, “Supporting one another: Nonbinary community building on Tumblr”, in Isabel K. Düsterhöft, Paul G. Nixon, editors, Sex in the Digital Age, unnumbered page

   Once the number of unanswered Asks in the inbox was over eight thousand, despite us deleting everything accumulated in the inbox once a year.

   2020, Lee Brown, “Behind the Scenes of a Popular Trans Youth Resources Tumblr”, in Alexander Cho, Allison McCracken, Indira N. Hoch, Louisa Stein, editors, A Tumblr Book: Platforms and Cultures, page 265

plural asks · alternative ascar · alternative askard · alternative asker · alternative askerd · alternative aks · alternative ax · alternative obsolete aske

1. ScotlandalsoinformalAn eft; newt.

   He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask.

   1876, S. Smiles, Scottish Naturalist

2. informalA lizard.

   We hear of Adder dens, but detailed accounts of the discovery of one are very rare. Service (1902) records that a peatman, when levelling on an estate by the Solway, found in a hole in the ground, some 8 inches below the surface, 40 adders, 10 toads and a large number of asks (lizards).

   1951, Malcolm Arthur Smith, The British Amphibians & Reptiles, page 258

1. Norsehuman sciencesThe first male human, according to the Poetic Edda.

plural Asks

1. A surname from Swedish.

1. abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of amplitude shift keying.