ASK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ask mean? 

• ASK (verb)
  The verb ASK has 7 senses:

1. make a request or demand for something to somebody

2. direct or put; seek an answer to

3. consider obligatory; request and expect

4. address a question to and expect an answer from

5. require as useful, just, or proper

6. make a date

7. require or ask for as a price or condition

  Familiarity information: ASK used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ASK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ask    ... he / she / it asks   
Past simple: asked   
Past participle: asked   
-ing form: asking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a request or demand for something to somebody

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

She asked him for a loan

Hypernyms (to "ask" is one way to...):

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "ask"):

request (ask (a person) to do something)

solicit (make a solicitation or petition for something desired)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something from somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They ask him to write the letter

Also:

ask in (ask to enter)

ask out (make a date)

ask over; ask round (invite someone to one's house)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Direct or put; seek an answer to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

ask a question

Hypernyms (to "ask" is one way to...):

articulate; formulate; give voice; phrase; word (put into words or an expression)

Verb group:

ask; enquire; inquire (address a question to and expect an answer from)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

asker (someone who asks a question)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Consider obligatory; request and expect

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

ask; expect; require

Context example:

I expect my students to arrive in time for their lessons

Hypernyms (to "ask" is one way to...):

demand (request urgently and forcefully)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "ask"):

call (require the presentation of for redemption before maturation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something from somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They ask him to write the letter

Sense 4

Meaning:

Address a question to and expect an answer from

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

ask; enquire; inquire

Context example:

He had to ask directions several times

Hypernyms (to "ask" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Verb group:

ask (direct or put; seek an answer to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "ask"):

pry (be nosey)

query; question (pose a question)

interrogate; question (pose a series of questions to)

confer with; consult (get or ask advice from)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They ask them the information

Derivation:

asker (someone who asks a question)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Require as useful, just, or proper

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

ask; call for; demand; involve; necessitate; need; postulate; require; take

Context example:

This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent

Verb group:

claim; exact; take (take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "ask"):

claim; exact; take (take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs)

govern (require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood)

draw (require a specified depth for floating)

cost (require to lose, suffer, or sacrifice)

cry for; cry out for (need badly or desperately)

compel (necessitate or exact)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Make a date

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

ask; ask out; invite out; take out

Context example:

He asekd me to a dance

Hypernyms (to "ask" is one way to...):

ask for; bespeak; call for; quest; request (express the need or desire for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 7

Meaning:

Require or ask for as a price or condition

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The kidnappers are asking a million dollars in return for the release of their hostage

Hypernyms (to "ask" is one way to...):

demand (request urgently and forcefully)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

He asked me, “who were our creditors; and where we found money to pay them?”

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

More readers write to ask about conception than any other question—and from December 20 to January 2, you will be outstandingly favored.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

"Got a gang?" he asked Cheese-Face, at the end of the act.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"Why do you want water?" he asked.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Well, said the butcher, I don’t like to say no, when one is asked to do a kind, neighbourly thing.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

‘What on earth for?’ I asked.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

‘Have you never heard of the League of the Red-headed Men?’ he asked with his eyes open.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Why are you all alone in the village?" I asked.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“May I ask how you knew who I was?”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon he would return Mr. Bennet's visit, and determining when they should ask him to dinner.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)