To request (information, or an answer to a question).
I asked her age.
I didn't know the answer so I asked.
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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
To request or enquire of (a person).
I asked her (for) her age.
I’m going to ask this lady (for) directions.
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If you want to know, ask her.
Ask him that he tell her —No need to, she'll already know by know.
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Usually, With 'for' or intransitive To request (an item or service) (see also ask for).
to ask for a second helping at dinner
to ask for help with homework
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to ask a favour
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:
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To request (someone to do something).
Emma asked Jim to close his eyes.
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To request permission (to do something).
She asked to see the doctor.
Did you ask to use the car?
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To put forward (a question) to be answered.
to ask a question
to ask a riddle
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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:
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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?
It’s asking a lot of this old car to make it all the way up to Scotland.
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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:
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To invite.
Don’t ask them to the wedding.
9
Figuratively To indirectly encourage or make more likely (an undesirable outcome).
Chiefly continuous aspect
Walking around with such an expensive watch is asking to be mugged.
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To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
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Figuratively To 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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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Internet, Informal A message sent to a blog on social networking platform Tumblr, which can be publicly posted and replied to by the recipient.
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:
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:
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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:
Etymology From Middle English aske, arske, ascre, from Old English āþexe (“lizard, newt”), from Proto-West Germanic *agiþahsijā (“lizard”), a compound of *agiz (“snake, lizard”) + *þahsuz (“badger”). Cognate of German Echse (“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: