ask
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ask¹
- /ɑːsk/ UK
- /ask/ Northern England, Scotland, UK
- /ɑːks/ Multicultural London English, UK, also
- /æsk/ Canada, US
- [ɛəsk] New York City, Philadelphia, US
- /æks/ US
- /ˈas Hong Kong, Singapore
- ˈɛs/ Hong Kong, Singapore
Sounds like acts, ax, axe (some dialects) · Rhymes with -æsk, -ɑːsk
Where it comes from
From Middle English asken, axen, from Old English āscian, from Proto-West Germanic *aiskōn, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- (“to wish; request”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian aaskje (“to ask, demand, require”), West Frisian easkje (“to ask, demand, require”), Dutch eisen (“to demand, require”), German heischen (“to ask, request, implore”), Russian иска́ть (iskátʹ), Sanskrit इच्छति (iccháti) (whence Hindi ईछना (īchnā).
verb asks · asking · asked · ask
- To request (information, or an answer to a question). I asked her age.
- To request or enquire of (a person). I asked her (for) her age.
- To request (an item or service) (see also ask for). to ask for a second helping at dinner
- To request (someone to do something). Emma asked Jim to close his eyes.
- To request permission (to do something). She asked to see the doctor.
- To put forward (a question) to be answered. to ask a question
- 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?
- To invite. Don’t ask them to the wedding.
- To indirectly encourage or make more likely (an undesirable outcome). Walking around with such an expensive watch is asking to be mugged.
- To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
- 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.
noun asks · aks · ax · aske
- An act or instance of asking. 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.
-
Something asked or asked for.
I know this is a big ask, but …
Similar: request
- An 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.
- 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.
ask²
- /ɑːsk/ UK
- /ask/ Northern England, Scotland, UK
- /ɑːks/ Multicultural London English, UK, also
- /æsk/ Canada, US
- [ɛəsk] New York City, Philadelphia, US
- /æks/ US
- /ˈas Hong Kong, Singapore
- ˈɛs/ Hong Kong, Singapore
Sounds like acts, ax, axe (some dialects) · Rhymes with -æsk, -ɑːsk
Where it comes from
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”).
noun asks · ascar · askard · asker · askerd · aks
- An eft; newt. He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask.
- A 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).
Ask³
Where it comes from
From Old Norse Askr, from askr (“ash tree”).
proper noun
- The first male human, according to the Poetic Edda.
Ask⁴
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Swedish Ask, from ask (“ash tree”), ultimately also from askr (“ash tree”). Doublet of Ash.
proper noun Asks
- A surname from Swedish.
ASK⁵
noun
- Initialism of amplitude shift keying
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: inquire, enquire, require, demand, necessitate, need, involve, expect, take, call for, pose, query, interrogate, request, question, cross-examine
Translations
Every language
verb make a request
| Español | pedir, requerir |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 청하다 cheonghada, 부탁하다 butakhada |
| 日本語 | 頼む tanomu |
| 中文 | 請 /请 qǐng, 請求 /请求 qǐngqiú |
| हिन्दी | पूछना pūchnā, माँगना māṅgnā |
| Kiswahili | kuomba |
| Português | pedir, solicitar, requerer, requisitar |
| Français | demander |
| Deutsch | bitten |
| Italiano | chiedere, domandare |
| Ελληνικά | παρακαλώ parakaló, ζητώ zitó |
| Română | cere, invita, ruga |
| Русский | проси́ть prosítʹ, попроси́ть poprosítʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | cầu xin |
| العربية | سَأَلَ saʔala, طَلَبَ ṭalaba |
| עברית | בִּקֵּשׁ bikésh, שָׁאַל sha'ál |
verb request an answer
| Español | preguntar, preduntar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 묻다 mutda, 질문하다 jilmunhada, 여쭈다 yeojjuda |
| 日本語 | 聞く kiku, 尋ねる tazuneru, 伺う ukagau, 質問する shitsumon suru |
| 中文 | 問 /问 wèn, 詢問 /询问 xúnwèn |
| हिन्दी | पूछना pūchnā |
| Kiswahili | -uliza |
| Português | perguntar |
| Français | demander, poser une question |
| Deutsch | fragen, stellen |
| Italiano | chiedere, domandare, interrogare |
| Ελληνικά | ρωτώ rotó |
| Română | întreba |
| Русский | спра́шивать sprášivatʹ, спроси́ть sprosítʹ, задава́ть zadavátʹ, зада́ть zadátʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | hỏi |
| العربية | سَأَلَ saʔala |
| עברית | שָׁאַל sha'ál |
Talk about this word "ask." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ask. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ask. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ask "ask." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ask.Cite this
@misc{ask_2026,
title = {ask},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ask},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
