definition of the word ask

(Northern form of) Old English āscian, from Proto-Germanic *aiskōjan. Cognate with German heischen.

• (RP) IPA: /ɑːsk/, SAMPA: /A:sk/
• (GenAm) IPA: /æsk/, SAMPA: /{sk/
• (US Regional Dialect) enPR: ăks
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -ɑːks

to ask (third-person singular simple present asks, present participle asking, simple past and past participle asked)

1. look for an answer to a question by speaking.
2. approach someone to do something.

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
• Pronouncing ask as /æks/ is a common example of metathesis and a feature of some varieties of English, notably African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

• ask after
• ask around
• ask for
• ask in
• ask out
• ask over
• ask round

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

---

2007-2013 © wordbyletter.com

---