ask
make a request or demand for something to somebody
How often you will meet it
Rank 337 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 60,852 times across 175,113 chapters — 0.029% of every word in the library.
It belongs to the first 500 words, the band worth learning before any other.
What it means
verb
- make a request or demand for something to somebody She asked him for a loan
- direct or put; seek an answer to ask a question
- consider obligatory; request and expect also: require, expect We require our secretary to be on timeAren't we asking too much of these children?
- address a question to and expect an answer from also: inquire, enquire Ask your teacher about trigonometryThe children asked me about their dead grandmother
- require as useful, just, or proper also: necessitate, postulate, need, require, take, involve It takes nerve to do what she didsuccess usually requires hard work
- make a date also: ask out, invite out, take out Has he asked you out yet?He asekd me to a dance
ask in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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I am emboldened to ask you one.
The Betrayal · E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim · Chapter 1
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Just ask your Alfred how much time he spends over there.’
The Mysterious Affair at Styles · Agatha Christie · Chapter 1
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Keep Thou my feet, I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me.
The White Christmas and other Merry · Walter Ben Hare · Chapter 1
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I dreamed I had one last night, and I intended to ask you at breakfast, but I was sound asleep.
Gloria and Treeless Street · Annie Hamilton Donnell · Chapter 1
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I can't keep you from doin' it, I reckon, but I do ask you not to sell without lettin' me know.
The Heart of the Hills · John, Jr. Fox · Chapter 1