asking

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Also found in: Thesaurus.
Related to askings: asking questions

ask

(ăsk)
v. asked, ask·ing, asks
v. tr.
1. To put a question to: When we realized that we didn't know the answer, we asked the teacher.
2. To seek an answer to: ask a question.
3. To seek information about: asked directions.
4.
a. To make a request of: asked me for a loan.
b. To make a request for. Often used with an infinitive or clause: ask a favor of a friend; asked to go along on the trip; asked that he be allowed to stay out late.
5. To require or call for as a price or condition: asked ten dollars for the book.
6. To expect or demand: ask too much of a child.
7. To invite: asked them to dinner.
8. Archaic To publish, as marriage banns.
v. intr.
1. To make inquiry; seek information.
2. To make a request: asked for help.
n. pl. asks Informal
1. The act of making a request: "He was contacted by the mayor's fund-raiser ... a day after the mayor made the ask" (Jennifer Fermino).
2. Something that is requested: "Being funny on demand is a big ask" (Anne Curzan).
Phrasal Verb:
ask out
To invite (someone) to a social engagement.
Idiom:
ask for it (or trouble) Informal
To persist in an action despite the likelihood that it will result in difficulty or punishment.

[Middle English asken, from Old English ācsian, āscian; see ais- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

ask′er n.
Synonyms: ask, question, inquire, query, interrogate, examine, quiz
These verbs mean to seek to gain or elicit information from another: Ask is the most neutral term: We asked the police officer for directions. The coach asked me what was wrong.
Question implies careful or methodical asking: The prosecutor questioned the witness on several key points.
Inquire often suggests a polite or formal request: We inquired whether the hotel had laundry service. The chairman inquired how best to secure the information.
Query usually suggests settling a doubt: The proofreader queried the author on the spelling of a name.
Interrogate applies especially to official and often aggressive questioning: The detectives interrogated the suspects for several hours.
Examine refers particularly to close and detailed questioning to ascertain a person's knowledge or qualifications: The committee examined each candidate separately.
Quiz denotes the informal examination of students: The teacher quizzed the pupils on the multiplication table.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.asking - the verbal act of requestingasking - the verbal act of requesting  
speech act - the use of language to perform some act
notice, notification - a request for payment; "the notification stated the grace period and the penalties for defaulting"
indirect request, wish - an expression of some desire or inclination; "I could tell that it was his wish that the guests leave"; "his crying was an indirect request for attention"
invitation - a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something; "an invitation to lunch"; "she threw the invitation away"
appeal, entreaty, prayer - earnest or urgent request; "an entreaty to stop the fighting"; "an appeal for help"; "an appeal to the public to keep calm"
orison, petition, prayer - reverent petition to a deity
call - a request; "many calls for Christmas stories"; "not many calls for buggywhips"
billing, charge - request for payment of a debt; "they submitted their charges at the end of each month"
trick or treat - a request by children on Halloween; they pass from door to door asking for goodies and threatening to play tricks on those who refuse
inquiring, questioning - a request for information
order - a request for something to be made, supplied, or served; "I gave the waiter my order"; "the company's products were in such demand that they got more orders than their call center could handle"
callback, recall - a request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (as for replacement or repair)
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

asking

n no pl to be had for the askingumsonst or leicht or mühelos zu haben sein; he could have had it for the askinger hätte es leicht bekommen können; she thought the world was hers for the askingsie dachte, die Welt stehe ihr offen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

asking

n. súplica, petición, demanda.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
Everybody was asking, "What could he mean by that?" And everybody went on asking that question, but in vain; for the judge only said he knew what he was talking about, and stopped there; Tom said he hadn't any idea what his uncle meant, and Wilson, whenever he was asked what he thought it meant, parried the question by asking the questioner what HE thought it meant.
AFTER the publication of "The Wonderful Wizard of OZ" I began to receive letters from children, telling me of their pleasure in reading the story and asking me to "write something more" about the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman.
The third time they came near one another the Fox went straight up to the Lion and passed the time of day with him, asking him how his family were, and when he should have the pleasure of seeing him again; then turning his tail, he parted from the Lion without much ceremony.
"I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time.
"Please say so, if you hate my asking you questions," I said.
I made the sign of the Knights of the East and of Jerusalem, and he responded in the same manner, asking me with a mild smile what I had learned and gained in the Prussian and Scottish lodges.
"But what has it to do with me?" she said to herself, and she began asking her husband how Seryozha had got on without her.
But, knowing what our relations were, he said in the most good-natured and respectful manner possible that he supposed on my leaving at Christmas I should take you with me, and on my asking what he would do without you he merely observed that, as a matter of fact, it was a time of year when he could do with a very little female help.