Definition of ask in English:

ask

verb ɑːskæsk

1reporting verb Say something in order to obtain an answer or some information.
问，询问
with object and clause I asked her what she meant
with object people are always asking questions
人们总是在提问题。
with direct speech ‘How much further?’ I asked
no object the old man asked about her job
那位老人打听她的工作情况。
Example sentencesExamples
- My question actually asked whether this would be a better course of action.
- We've seem them fritter away hours of valuable time asking and answering trivial questions that could easily have been settled by a phone call or two.
- There must also be serious questions asked about the handling of this situation by the administrators.
- is a good question to ask, and the answer tells us something important.
- There is an old adage in survey work - the questions you ask determine the answers you get.
- Many obstacles are encountered when asking and answering questions about how to care for patients.
- It was a simple question that asked whether Parliament should have another look at these laws.
- I have no care plan that I am aware of, when I once asked about it I was given a vague answer about not everyone having one.
- There's a simple way to avoid having to ask or answer that question.
- We'd be asked sort of general questions, and then asked to ramble answers that might one day be useful.
- As I have said if he doesn't like my answers, he should ask better questions.
- Questions that shareholders are asking require urgent answers.
- The next morning my consultant asked about events during the night, and I mentioned the referral.
- He told him certain questions that might be asked about their relationship.
- In such a structure, questions will be asked about whose interests are best being served.
- Of course, questions should be asked about past maintenance, but that will not solve the hazard posed here and now.
- She was willing to do anything if she'd get some answers and he stopped asking all these questions.
- Huge questions have to be asked about the whole principle of collecting and managing such a fund.
- He hadn't answered her when she asked if he had been okay, just stood up and walked away.
- Questions are being asked about whether this was coincidence or conspiracy.
Synonyms
enquire (of), query, want to know, question, put a question to, interrogate, quiz, cross-question, cross-examine, catechize
informal grill, pump, give the third degree to
put, put forward, pose, raise, submit, propose, seek/get the answer to
1. 1.1ask aroundno object Talk to different people in order to find out something.
  四处打听
  there are fine meals to be had if you ask around
  如果你四处打听一下就能吃上美食。
  Example sentencesExamples
  After asking around, I found out it happens all the time. A friend of the family lost £400 and someone else got a bill for £700.
  After much asking around, he managed to find out where the man lived.
  At the same time, I am quietly asking around and looking into other opportunities.
  At first, I thought it was just our area but I've been asking around and apparently, almost all of the areas (if not all) are suffering this drought.
  Start your research by asking around and reading guidebooks to get together some ideas.
  I started asking around among those friends who had literature degrees, English degrees, well-read others, but have found no one who can tell me the name of any myth about a horse eating nothing but rose petals.
  They asked around and at least five different people have seen him.
  You can invent your own roving itinerary, circumnavigating by jeep or bike or kayak, camping on the beach or overnighting in the host homes you'll find in most villages just by asking around.
  He said: ‘I'm now asking around, trying to get hold of a tandem to hire.’
  We were asking around town who the best people to do this kind of record with were, and everyone said we should talk to James and Tim.
  I have been asking around to see if anyone has seen two white fantail doves.
  In order to keep her new identity a tight secret it bans journalists from even asking around for information about her new name or whereabouts, let alone publishing the details.
  We have got a lot of people asking around and the local youngsters are upset about it so they are making inquiries too.
  We asked around a lot and people told us that the clothes and so on seem to date back to the early 50s.
  I have been asking around and trying to find out exactly when all this started but no-one seems to know and we're not being told anything.
  I have put up a few adverts and asked around and even had a few calls from interested people but I want to find the right person to take some of my best customers on.
  She thought the dog had been dumped there and was asking around all week if anyone had lost a dog.
  This week I needed to get some commonly used cells from a few different places, so this involved asking around.
  I started asking around for a ride up to Jerusalem and got lucky on the second try.
  When someone takes something from your desk, why do they wait until you start asking around to tell you that they have it?
2. 1.2ask after" or Scottish "ask forBritish no object Enquire about the health or well-being of.
  询问…的健康（或生活状况）
  if I see him I'll tell him you were asking after him
  如果我见到他我会告诉他你曾问起他的健康状况。
  Example sentencesExamples
  It was unbelievable, everyone was asking after her.
  Crammed into eight lines in block capitals, the postcards ask after family and friends and wish a happy birthday to a much-loved brother.
  I also know someone who I considered one of my better friends knows I was attacked, because his girlfriend has been asking after my welfare, but he hasn't been in touch at all.
  If they don't see me for a while, they ask after me.
  I asked after his dad, off on holiday in Majorca, and his uncle, who is the guy that's going to do my new roof for me.
  Flat cap in hand, the foreign secretary strides from doorstep to corner shop, greeting many voters by name and asking after their fathers.
  She wasn't saying much today, other than to ask after my wife and baby.
  He had told her that the girls had been around to ask after her.
  So I don't feel like I'm missing out on any of that- and here's where the complaining comes in- I just hate people constantly asking after my well-being, like it's oh so sad that I don't have any big holiday plans.
  Instead she went to the village barber who acted as the local surgeon and asked after the health of her opponent.
  Although rivalry was intense between the two clubs, she always showed an interest in how my children were getting on and always asked after them.
  Since then there has been a deafening silence from punters - we've received three emails asking after Dan's health, including one from a creditor.
  Many of his regular customers who had known him for years asked after him and wished him well.
  I fight the urge to ask after the health of his son.
  I would like to thank everyone who phoned to ask after Matt.
  He asked after my parents and enquired into the wellbeing of my wife and kids.
  He'd sometimes send a brief message asking after his father's health.
  The look she gave her was full of understanding and Diana felt that Virginia wasn't asking after her health.
  She asks after him every two minutes; but how do you explain something like that to a child?
  I have had lots of people stopping me to ask after him.
2with object Say to (someone) that one wants them to do or give something.
请求…做，要求…给予
Mary asked her father for money
玛丽向她父亲要钱。
with object and infinitive I asked him to call the manager
no object don't be afraid to ask for advice
别怕征求意见。
Example sentencesExamples
- My cohort noticed a sign asking people to please not put cigarettes out on the carpet.
- Have you been contacted by anyone asking you to sign up for a pyramid-type savings scheme or have you already joined one?
- If you can make this commitment we ask you to sign the registration sheet that is available at the back of church.
- A sign has been erected asking people to take away any rubbish from the graveyard and not to just dump it in the corner as was previously the situation.
- They have signs all over asking customers to return their trays to the collection point, which is fine.
- We didn't close at any point, we simply put up a sign asking people to bear with us while we had the window repaired.
- In front was a sign asking all visitors to report to reception.
- He wasn't asked to plea during his appearance today and did not ask for bail.
- Many of them have put up signs in their windows asking drivers to cut their speed to no more than 20 mph.
- Is it too much to ask for to have at least one popular or semi-popular boy ask me to one of the dances or even out for pizza.
- If you would like to join up for these lessons, you are asked to register for the course as soon as possible.
- I think when your boss asks you to sign a waiver, that's not a voluntary action on your part.
- I made some nice posters, and stood in the foyer of student buildings asking people to sign petitions for an equal age of consent.
- When he came to take up his position he was asked to sign a code of conduct which bound him to agreeing in public to any decision taken by the board.
- I did not understand the logic of asking me to apply only to say no, but there we are.
- If you're asking users to register for a newsletter, ask for only an email address.
- It was a really secretive process and I wasn't even sure who I was applying to until they asked me to come in for an interview!
- This will give you a separate e-mail address you can give any time any site asks you to register.
- To continue the footballing analogy, it is like asking footballers to sign a formal declaration before each game that they will not cheat and will always play fair.
- A part of the money has been spent on signs asking people not to feed the birds.
- If you do get the promise of a concession by special request, ask for written confirmation from the airline.
Synonyms
request, demand, appeal to, apply to, petition, call on, entreat, beg, implore, exhort, urge, enjoin, importune, pray, solicit, beseech, plead with, sue, supplicate
seek, put in for, call for, crave
1. 2.1with clause Say that one wants permission to do something.
  要求（允许做某事）
  she asked if she could move in
  她问她能不能搬进来。
  with infinitive he asked to see the officer involved
  他要求见有关的官员。
  with object you should have asked my permission first
  Example sentencesExamples
  It was a five minute time where the two people pretty much faced off; no asking permission from the speaker, just going at it.
  Without waiting on permission or asking his Commanding Officer he led two hundred men.
  As if I couldn't tell by his serious expression, he let himself in instead of asking permission.
  You find yourself asking permission to do things all the time.
  Bury council is also demanding people ask permission to film or take photographs, but has so far not extended the ban to phones.
  Don't ask others for permission, as they'll often express their own fears, with the best of intentions.
  But this story about Tivo asking the FCC for permission to add new features is changing my mind.
  Jenny - what woman in their right mind would ask her ex for permission to date her next boyfriend?
  The thought of asking permission to beat a prisoner senseless is so far down the line of probability that it doesn't raise a flicker on his radar screen.
  Bruno takes honey from a beehive, which teaches him the importance of asking permission and of giving to others.
  I would have preferred asking Perla for permission rather than Amina.
  We also need to ask the chief's permission to kayak down his tribe's river.
  I knew it was about my father, but it felt like she was asking me permission to ask something about him.
2. 2.2ask forno object Say that one wants to speak to.
  when I arrived I asked for Katrina
  我一到就去找卡特里娜谈。
  Example sentencesExamples
  One French client asks for a Canadian airman because he ‘prefers the [Québécois] accent.’
  An elderly man answered the door and, when Setisia asked for Astell, requested her name.
  Natasha, forcing a sly smile, asks for the host.
3. 2.3 Say that one wants (a specified amount) as a price for selling something.
  索价，要价
  he was asking £250 for the guitar
  这把吉他他要价250英镑。
  Example sentencesExamples
  It's not even as if the price America was being asked was so awful.
  No, Olympic Plaza isn't Broadway, but then this Guys and Dolls isn't asking Broadway prices, either.
  I would probably have taken half the asked amount just to get the thing off my hands.
  We've noticed that houses are staying on the market longer, and that they are often selling for prices below asking.
  However, he felt the price residents were being asked to pay was too high.
  They haggled for a lower price than that being asked and got the wreck for probably not too much more than it was worth.
  This isn't a greedy seller asking a ridiculous amount no one will pay.
  On the way out, it occurred to me that if they sold everything on that table for the prices they were asking, they would probably make up a third of the film's budget.
  But art market sources say he's selling the heart of his collection - and asking high prices.
4. 2.4 Expect or demand (something) of someone.
  指望（从某人那里）得到；（向某人）索取
  it's asking a lot, but could you look through Billy's things?
  你要求得太多了，不过你能不能到比利的东西里翻翻看？
  Example sentencesExamples
  To return to her own ‘world’ seemed to be asking the highest price of her one could.
  It is also asking a lot to expect players to repeat such a performance within days in a European competition.
  He asks an incredible amount from his viewers.
  Of course, it would be asking an awful lot to expect a Gold Cup from him now but we'll see how he comes along.
  All members are asked to attend and new members are invited to the meeting.
  Is it also too much to ask that album reviews provide some idea of what to expect from the record in question?
  With her injury still clearly troubling her, it is asking a lot to expect her to come back.
  To ask them to take something from theater or dance or music, to see the indirect sources of creativity that they could use is asking them a lot.
  It will be asking a lot of Maxwell to expect a fourth monumental effort in Friday's semi-final against Nepal.
  The Notice of Appeal also asks this court in effect to hold that the defence of qualified privilege in each of its forms has no real prospect of success.
  It's far more demanding and you are asking a lot of part-time players to make that step up.
  I completely fail to understand how and why anyone would think the voiceover-free version is confusing - it's not a film that asks a huge amount of its audience.
  Nobody is any longer asking them to apologise for the past: the demands for apology are now focused on the government.
  It is asking a lot to expect him to do well this year in Paris but, provided he stays fit and avoids the pressure cooker of national expectation, he will be back.
3with object Invite (someone) to one's home or a function.
邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会）
it's about time we asked Pam to dinner
差不多该我们请帕姆吃饭了。
she asked him round for a drink
她邀他出来喝一杯。
Example sentencesExamples
- Once, her mother asked her to come home for a function and there she heard that some ceremony was to take place.
Synonyms
invite, bid, have someone over/round, summon
request the pleasure of someone's company
1. 3.1ask someone along Invite someone to join one on a group outing.
  邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会）
  do you want to ask him along?
  你想邀他一起出游吗？
  Example sentencesExamples
  Last week Alison asked me along to a public meeting.
  When word got out that they were going to ask Rick along, the staff thought it was a great idea.
  Maybe we could ask Beth along as well, that would be fun.
  I want to encourage people to ask me along, whether they want me to give a talk, or offer advice.
  She asked me along to make sure he didn't try anything on, and I must have stayed in there for about four hours marvelling at this great wonder of the world.
  ‘Leave him,’ said Blaise, just as Isis had opened her mouth to ask whether or not to ask him along.
  You told him you'd asked Ally along on Sunday?
  Normally it would just be for my year, but I thought I would ask you along anyway.
  Nobody's calling you or asking you along to the Royal College of Art.
  He doesn't ask me along, and I don't feel comfortable asking him if I can go if he doesn't want me to come.
  I don't know whether it might have been very wise, proper and dignified for the PM to have asked Latham along.
  ‘Yea,’ said Ian smiling, flattered that Rich has asked him along.
  An abundance of alcohol leads the boys to let their proverbial hair down; they ask Verdu along on a summer road trip, thinking she'll never say yes.
  ‘But, um, thanks for asking me along,’ she added as she passed me.
  ‘You asked me along to remedy any wounds that might be inflicted upon your men - or even Adam or you,’ she said.
  Yeah, he's a great friend and all, but I just never expected that you would ask him along!
  Similarly, he suspected that as managing director he was asked along to the second meeting too.
  Jonathan looked at her with an embarrassed smile, ‘I actually I was considering asking you along but couldn't work up the nerve.’
  I concluded that I was asked along as a member of the ladies football fraternity, and so thought it best to bring a colleague.
  And on Friday they emailed me back and asked me along.
2. 3.2ask someone out Invite someone out on a date.
  a few boys asked her out but never the right ones
  Example sentencesExamples
  It's like asking someone out for a date - perseverance never hurts when it comes to getting what you want.
  Have any of your customers ever asked you out on a date?
  So if he asks you out, you would date him, correct?
  Then again, I sent a stranger a fake story in order to get him to call and ask me out on a date.
  She then completely surprised me by asking me out for a second date.
  She asks why he never called her after their first date, and then asks him out again.
  I don't even really know if he was asking me out as a date!
  It was foolish of me to assume he was asking me out on a date.
  This can be as simple as inviting a boy to sit with you or as involved as straight-up asking him out on a date.
  We hang out sometimes, but would it be weird to ask him out for a date?
  As one candidate said, ‘It's like asking someone out on a date, and on top of that, they pay.’
  The first time he said this - way back when we were freshers at Bristol University - I thought he fancied me and was asking me out on a date.
  She says I have to call her as soon as Aaron asks me out on a real date.
  So, the process of asking someone out on a date can get really complex, as you are required to do it by making open statements.
  The conversation led in such a way that the only way to get to know her better was to ask her out on a date.
  Here I thought he was actually expecting me to find a gift for his mother… when he was asking me out on another date!
  The other Ryan, whom I'm still friends with, is asking me out on dates and telling all my friends how much he cares about me.
  I'm surprised that you weren't asked out on dates every second!
  He got her mobile number and asked her out on a date the next day.
  If he asks you out on a date, say no, sorry, you have a boyfriend and aren't interested.

noun ɑːskæsk

1informal with adjective A demand or situation that requires a specified degree of effort or commitment.
〈非正式〉较为棘手的要求（或情形），非轻而易举之事
it is a big ask for him to go and play 90 minutes
要他上场踢90分钟真有点为难他。
it was a tough ask, but they delivered
这有一定的难度，但他们做到了。
Example sentencesExamples
- I have got another year of my degree to go, and I know playing professional rugby and doing my degree would be a big ask.
- Our staff and volunteers aim to grant a wish for every day of the year, which is a big ask.
- It's always a big ask, and cases against the powerful are difficult cases, but that's what courts are for, and it's the responsibility of those who are there to enforce the law to take on difficult cases.
- I don't want to go into the game in a negative frame of mind but we have to be realistic and admit it will be a big ask to get two points off Leeds.
- If we get four wins we will make the play-offs, but it's a big ask.
2US A request, especially for a donation.
it was an awkward ask for more funding
1. 2.1 The price at which an item, especially a financial security, is offered for sale.
  〈美〉物品（尤指金融证券）的售价
  as modifier ask prices for bonds
  政府债券的售价。

Phrases

ask me another

informal Used to indicate that one does not know the answer to a question.
〈非正式〉用于表示不知道问题的答案我不知道
‘What do they quarrel about?’ queried Ruth. ‘Ask me another!’
“他们在吵什么？”鲁思问。“我也不知道。”

be asking for trouble (or it)

informal Behave in a way that is likely to result in difficulty for oneself.
〈非正式〉自找麻烦
it would simply be asking for trouble for me to spend the night here
Example sentencesExamples
- It is asking for trouble to stoke up the fires again.
- Walking in the dark is asking for trouble as the chosen path may be full of, or littered with obstacles.
- Casting the part in real life is asking for trouble.
- Forcing them out in the middle of the night is asking for trouble.
- In fact, despite talk about the powerlessness of women, this play seems to tell us that Desdemona was asking for it.
- Calling yourself a writer for doing stuff that no one has ever read is asking for it, although actually, people are usually kind and interested.
- Of course, these kids were asking for trouble with their actions.
- An unmanned building in an area where there is a lot of problems with unruly behaviour is asking for trouble.
- Well, they were asking for it, I suppose.
- Any more than that and you were asking for trouble.
- Indeed, don't imbibe on an empty stomach, that is asking for trouble.
- For example, nobody tells a carjacking victim who drives a nice looking car that he/she was asking for trouble.
- Let's face it, passing the shears to gardeners convinced they see a shape within a tree or shrub is asking for trouble.
- With only half an hour until curtain up at the Odeon, we quickly decide that choosing a dessert would simply be asking for trouble - though it proves to be yet another Promethean struggle to get the bill.
- To leave parking badges in the car outside your own front door, especially overnight, is asking for trouble.
- It was always going to be controversial but to adopt such an extreme, libertarian view is biased and is asking for trouble.
- I think this sort of thing is asking for trouble.
- I guess the sea air got to the stewards, but really, they were asking for trouble.
- Expecting others, from different backgrounds, to adopt our own ways of doing things is asking for trouble.
- Going budget in the jungle is asking for trouble: for every pound you save, you'll get five mosquito bites and a bout of heatstroke.

don't ask me!

informal Used to indicate that one has no idea of the answer to a question.
〈非正式〉用于表示不知道问题的答案我不知道
‘Is he her boyfriend then?’ ‘Don't ask me!’

for the asking

Used to indicate that someone can easily have something if they want it.
用于表示如果想得到某种东西就能轻易到手只需提出要求便能得到
the job was his for the asking
只要他提出，那工作他便能轻易到手。
Example sentencesExamples
- Every variety I could think of was there for the asking.
- Many technology job seekers, wowed by all the hype of a labor shortage, sometimes think that a position is theirs for the asking.
- What this means is there are free books to read for the asking!
- Consequently, there's a lot of useful information here for the asking.
- Every type of vacation experience, every form of recreation, every convenience is available for the asking at Lake Tahoe.
- It is ours for the asking, at any time and in any place!
- If you're willing to look, many of these items are in construction-site trash bins free for the asking.
- In most campaigns, strong operational managers can be yours for the asking.
- It is free for the asking, contains good tutorials and sample models, and was designed to be accessible.
- Solar energy is not to be had for the asking in a cloud forest.
- The store has an 80-page catalog of books, computer software and videos, free for the asking.
- They are within our grasp, practically for the asking.
- Whilst we sometimes feel as though we live globally in the proximity of a timebomb, artistic revelation is there for the asking.
- This sounds as if promotion was hers for the asking.
- Virtually every manufacturer has well-presented catalogs just for the asking.
- Either on site or within a short distance, there is just about any kind of sporting activity you could imagine, yours for the asking.
- Expedition of hearings in this Court is not available for the asking.
- This almost always means advertising, the bane of readers' existence, but it's the reason most content on the net remains free for the asking.
- Now you have the choice of coloured lenses, and if you want blue, green, grey, or hazel eyes to match that tinted hair, it is yours for the asking.
- Upgrades are often available just for the asking.

I ask you!

informal An exclamation of shock or disapproval intended to elicit agreement from one's listener.
〈非正式〉用于表示惊诧或不赞成，意在使听者表示同意自己刚说过的话这算怎么回事！这说得过去吗？
ringing me up on Christmas Day, I ask you!
圣诞节给我打电话，这说得过去吗？
Example sentencesExamples
- Why otherwise would sales charts (sales charts, I ask you!) become the obsessional focus for interactions between pop and society?
- The story's an abecedary (an abecedary, I ask you!) with the main characters A, N (the narrator) and Z (Zaccheus).
- ‘Even on her Bachelorette Party,’ exclaimed Emily, ‘I ask you!’

if you ask me

informal Used to emphasize that a statement is one's personal opinion.
〈非正式〉用于强调所言仅是个人看法我认为，依我看
if you ask me, it's just an excuse for laziness
依我看，这不过是一个偷懒的借口。
Example sentencesExamples
- We've done very well without them for hundreds of years, if you ask me.
- I dunno, they sound like reasonable people to cast if you ask me.
- It seems like a shifty way to completely screw your computer up if you ask me.
- She's lovely in person, but her speeches are a bit boring if you ask me.
- I still feel we were robbed, but what can you do - it's all politics if you ask me.
- It's not so much the money that causes stress, if you ask me, it's the things we do to get it.
- There's a few more jockeys that need waking up at dawn if you ask me.
- The post only got a couple of comments, but let me tell you, the girl looked pretty fine if you ask me.
- I'm not jumping to conclusions, but this looks suspicious if you ask me.
- In jest or not, this is not particularly sporting if you ask me.
- It's already happening, if you ask me, right now, with this example.
- All in all, the book has a cartoony quality to it, but that's to be expected and encouraged, if you ask me.
- Fair enough, a bit overkill if you ask me, but you can see the logic.
- Anyone who thinks they're unreasonable is being unreasonable themselves, if you ask me.
- Now there is a bit of freedom when wearing boxers, too much if you ask me!
- These evasive tactics have saved many a relationship for the last many years, but now things have gone out of hand if you ask me.
- That is a pretty ugly vehicle if you ask me, but I like the musical score for that advertisement.
- Any sport where you bleed as a matter of course is a bit silly, if you ask me.
- The river has been coming back up all week - much nicer that way, if you ask me.
- Now I don't want to go off on a rant here, but if you ask me, this proposal doesn't go far enough.
Synonyms
for my part, for my own part, for myself, according to my way of thinking, to my mind, in my estimation, as far as i am concerned, in my opinion, in my view, in my own opinion, in my own view, from my own point of view, from where i stand, from my standpoint, as i see it, if you ask me, for my money, in my book

Derivatives

asker

noun ˈɑːskəˈæskər

I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that the askers of these questions are usually in a relationship that's dead in the water but maybe haven't admitted it to themselves yet.
Example sentencesExamples
- The asker must be holding at least one card of the rank asked for.
- Such a response is not fair to the asker of the question.
- The asker is a middle-aged woman, and one of about 50 people who turned up to the Edmonton Art Gallery for a guided tour of the traveling show.
- I crossed the recently pedestrianized town centre on a hunt for cat equipment, and saw two competing groups of question askers.

Origin

Old English āscian, āhsian, āxian, of West Germanic origin.

Like many short but vital words, ask is Old English. Variations of the saying ask a silly question and you get a silly answer date back to at least the 13th century. It has a biblical source, ‘Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit’, from the Book of Proverbs. A big ask is a difficult demand to make of someone, a lot to ask. The phrase originates in Australia, where it was first recorded in 1987, but has spread quickly into British English, and is a favourite of sports players, commentators, and writers, as in the example ‘If we get four wins we will make the play-offs, but it's a big ask’ (Bolton Evening News).

Rhymes

bask, cask, flask, Krasnoyarsk, mask, masque, task

Definition of ask in US English:

ask

verbæskask

1reporting verb Say something in order to obtain an answer or some information.
问，询问
with object people are always asking questions
人们总是在提问题。
with direct speech “How much further?” I asked
no object the old man asked about her job
那位老人打听她的工作情况。
with clause he asked if she wanted coffee
he asked whether his electric wheelchair would fit through their doors
Example sentencesExamples
- The next morning my consultant asked about events during the night, and I mentioned the referral.
- Questions are being asked about whether this was coincidence or conspiracy.
- He hadn't answered her when she asked if he had been okay, just stood up and walked away.
- Huge questions have to be asked about the whole principle of collecting and managing such a fund.
- Many obstacles are encountered when asking and answering questions about how to care for patients.
- There's a simple way to avoid having to ask or answer that question.
- We'd be asked sort of general questions, and then asked to ramble answers that might one day be useful.
- We've seem them fritter away hours of valuable time asking and answering trivial questions that could easily have been settled by a phone call or two.
- It was a simple question that asked whether Parliament should have another look at these laws.
- Of course, questions should be asked about past maintenance, but that will not solve the hazard posed here and now.
- is a good question to ask, and the answer tells us something important.
- As I have said if he doesn't like my answers, he should ask better questions.
- My question actually asked whether this would be a better course of action.
- In such a structure, questions will be asked about whose interests are best being served.
- I have no care plan that I am aware of, when I once asked about it I was given a vague answer about not everyone having one.
- Questions that shareholders are asking require urgent answers.
- There must also be serious questions asked about the handling of this situation by the administrators.
- He told him certain questions that might be asked about their relationship.
- She was willing to do anything if she'd get some answers and he stopped asking all these questions.
- There is an old adage in survey work - the questions you ask determine the answers you get.
Synonyms
enquire, enquire of, query, want to know, question, put a question to, interrogate, quiz, cross-question, cross-examine, catechize
put, put forward, pose, raise, submit, propose, get the answer to, seek the answer to
1. 1.1ask aroundno object Talk to various people in order to find something out.
  四处打听
  there are fine meals to be had if you ask around
  如果你四处打听一下就能吃上美食。
  Example sentencesExamples
  After much asking around, he managed to find out where the man lived.
  I have been asking around to see if anyone has seen two white fantail doves.
  At the same time, I am quietly asking around and looking into other opportunities.
  I have been asking around and trying to find out exactly when all this started but no-one seems to know and we're not being told anything.
  You can invent your own roving itinerary, circumnavigating by jeep or bike or kayak, camping on the beach or overnighting in the host homes you'll find in most villages just by asking around.
  We were asking around town who the best people to do this kind of record with were, and everyone said we should talk to James and Tim.
  We asked around a lot and people told us that the clothes and so on seem to date back to the early 50s.
  We have got a lot of people asking around and the local youngsters are upset about it so they are making inquiries too.
  I have put up a few adverts and asked around and even had a few calls from interested people but I want to find the right person to take some of my best customers on.
  He said: ‘I'm now asking around, trying to get hold of a tandem to hire.’
  In order to keep her new identity a tight secret it bans journalists from even asking around for information about her new name or whereabouts, let alone publishing the details.
  At first, I thought it was just our area but I've been asking around and apparently, almost all of the areas (if not all) are suffering this drought.
  After asking around, I found out it happens all the time. A friend of the family lost £400 and someone else got a bill for £700.
  I started asking around among those friends who had literature degrees, English degrees, well-read others, but have found no one who can tell me the name of any myth about a horse eating nothing but rose petals.
  Start your research by asking around and reading guidebooks to get together some ideas.
  She thought the dog had been dumped there and was asking around all week if anyone had lost a dog.
  This week I needed to get some commonly used cells from a few different places, so this involved asking around.
  They asked around and at least five different people have seen him.
  I started asking around for a ride up to Jerusalem and got lucky on the second try.
  When someone takes something from your desk, why do they wait until you start asking around to tell you that they have it?
2. 1.2ask after" or Scottish "ask forBritish no object Inquire about the health or well-being of.
  询问…的健康（或生活状况）
  Mrs. Savage asked after Iris's mother
  Example sentencesExamples
  If they don't see me for a while, they ask after me.
  He asked after my parents and enquired into the wellbeing of my wife and kids.
  Crammed into eight lines in block capitals, the postcards ask after family and friends and wish a happy birthday to a much-loved brother.
  He had told her that the girls had been around to ask after her.
  I fight the urge to ask after the health of his son.
  Although rivalry was intense between the two clubs, she always showed an interest in how my children were getting on and always asked after them.
  She wasn't saying much today, other than to ask after my wife and baby.
  I have had lots of people stopping me to ask after him.
  I also know someone who I considered one of my better friends knows I was attacked, because his girlfriend has been asking after my welfare, but he hasn't been in touch at all.
  Flat cap in hand, the foreign secretary strides from doorstep to corner shop, greeting many voters by name and asking after their fathers.
  The look she gave her was full of understanding and Diana felt that Virginia wasn't asking after her health.
  Since then there has been a deafening silence from punters - we've received three emails asking after Dan's health, including one from a creditor.
  He'd sometimes send a brief message asking after his father's health.
  She asks after him every two minutes; but how do you explain something like that to a child?
  So I don't feel like I'm missing out on any of that- and here's where the complaining comes in- I just hate people constantly asking after my well-being, like it's oh so sad that I don't have any big holiday plans.
  I asked after his dad, off on holiday in Majorca, and his uncle, who is the guy that's going to do my new roof for me.
  Instead she went to the village barber who acted as the local surgeon and asked after the health of her opponent.
  It was unbelievable, everyone was asking after her.
  I would like to thank everyone who phoned to ask after Matt.
  Many of his regular customers who had known him for years asked after him and wished him well.
2with object Request (someone) to do or give something.
请求…做，要求…给予
Mary asked her father for money
玛丽向她父亲要钱。
with object and infinitive I asked him to call the manager
no object don't be afraid to ask for advice
别怕征求意见。
Example sentencesExamples
- He wasn't asked to plea during his appearance today and did not ask for bail.
- Have you been contacted by anyone asking you to sign up for a pyramid-type savings scheme or have you already joined one?
- It was a really secretive process and I wasn't even sure who I was applying to until they asked me to come in for an interview!
- I made some nice posters, and stood in the foyer of student buildings asking people to sign petitions for an equal age of consent.
- If you do get the promise of a concession by special request, ask for written confirmation from the airline.
- If you would like to join up for these lessons, you are asked to register for the course as soon as possible.
- I think when your boss asks you to sign a waiver, that's not a voluntary action on your part.
- Is it too much to ask for to have at least one popular or semi-popular boy ask me to one of the dances or even out for pizza.
- To continue the footballing analogy, it is like asking footballers to sign a formal declaration before each game that they will not cheat and will always play fair.
- My cohort noticed a sign asking people to please not put cigarettes out on the carpet.
- When he came to take up his position he was asked to sign a code of conduct which bound him to agreeing in public to any decision taken by the board.
- We didn't close at any point, we simply put up a sign asking people to bear with us while we had the window repaired.
- If you're asking users to register for a newsletter, ask for only an email address.
- This will give you a separate e-mail address you can give any time any site asks you to register.
- A sign has been erected asking people to take away any rubbish from the graveyard and not to just dump it in the corner as was previously the situation.
- A part of the money has been spent on signs asking people not to feed the birds.
- They have signs all over asking customers to return their trays to the collection point, which is fine.
- I did not understand the logic of asking me to apply only to say no, but there we are.
- Many of them have put up signs in their windows asking drivers to cut their speed to no more than 20 mph.
- If you can make this commitment we ask you to sign the registration sheet that is available at the back of church.
- In front was a sign asking all visitors to report to reception.
Synonyms
request, demand, appeal to, apply to, petition, call on, entreat, beg, implore, exhort, urge, enjoin, importune, pray, solicit, beseech, plead with, sue, supplicate
1. 2.1with clause Request permission to do something.
  请求…做，要求…给予
  she asked if she could move in
  她问她能不能搬进来。
  with infinitive he asked to see the officer involved
  他要求见有关的官员。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Jenny - what woman in their right mind would ask her ex for permission to date her next boyfriend?
  Bruno takes honey from a beehive, which teaches him the importance of asking permission and of giving to others.
  But this story about Tivo asking the FCC for permission to add new features is changing my mind.
  The thought of asking permission to beat a prisoner senseless is so far down the line of probability that it doesn't raise a flicker on his radar screen.
  Without waiting on permission or asking his Commanding Officer he led two hundred men.
  It was a five minute time where the two people pretty much faced off; no asking permission from the speaker, just going at it.
  Bury council is also demanding people ask permission to film or take photographs, but has so far not extended the ban to phones.
  I would have preferred asking Perla for permission rather than Amina.
  We also need to ask the chief's permission to kayak down his tribe's river.
  As if I couldn't tell by his serious expression, he let himself in instead of asking permission.
  Don't ask others for permission, as they'll often express their own fears, with the best of intentions.
  I knew it was about my father, but it felt like she was asking me permission to ask something about him.
  You find yourself asking permission to do things all the time.
2. 2.2ask forno object Request to speak to.
  请求和…说话
  when I arrived, I asked for Catherine
  我一到就去找卡特里娜谈。
  Example sentencesExamples
  An elderly man answered the door and, when Setisia asked for Astell, requested her name.
  One French client asks for a Canadian airman because he ‘prefers the [Québécois] accent.’
  Natasha, forcing a sly smile, asks for the host.
3. 2.3 Request (a specified amount) as a price for selling something.
  索价，要价
  he was asking $250 for the guitar
  这把吉他他要价250英镑。
  Example sentencesExamples
  This isn't a greedy seller asking a ridiculous amount no one will pay.
  But art market sources say he's selling the heart of his collection - and asking high prices.
  It's not even as if the price America was being asked was so awful.
  We've noticed that houses are staying on the market longer, and that they are often selling for prices below asking.
  I would probably have taken half the asked amount just to get the thing off my hands.
  On the way out, it occurred to me that if they sold everything on that table for the prices they were asking, they would probably make up a third of the film's budget.
  No, Olympic Plaza isn't Broadway, but then this Guys and Dolls isn't asking Broadway prices, either.
  They haggled for a lower price than that being asked and got the wreck for probably not too much more than it was worth.
  However, he felt the price residents were being asked to pay was too high.
4. 2.4 Expect or demand (something) of someone.
  指望（从某人那里）得到；（向某人）索取
  it's asking a lot, but could you look through Billy's things?
  你要求得太多了，不过你能不能到比利的东西里翻翻看？
  Example sentencesExamples
  I completely fail to understand how and why anyone would think the voiceover-free version is confusing - it's not a film that asks a huge amount of its audience.
  It will be asking a lot of Maxwell to expect a fourth monumental effort in Friday's semi-final against Nepal.
  All members are asked to attend and new members are invited to the meeting.
  To ask them to take something from theater or dance or music, to see the indirect sources of creativity that they could use is asking them a lot.
  To return to her own ‘world’ seemed to be asking the highest price of her one could.
  With her injury still clearly troubling her, it is asking a lot to expect her to come back.
  The Notice of Appeal also asks this court in effect to hold that the defence of qualified privilege in each of its forms has no real prospect of success.
  He asks an incredible amount from his viewers.
  It's far more demanding and you are asking a lot of part-time players to make that step up.
  It is also asking a lot to expect players to repeat such a performance within days in a European competition.
  Nobody is any longer asking them to apologise for the past: the demands for apology are now focused on the government.
  Is it also too much to ask that album reviews provide some idea of what to expect from the record in question?
  It is asking a lot to expect him to do well this year in Paris but, provided he stays fit and avoids the pressure cooker of national expectation, he will be back.
  Of course, it would be asking an awful lot to expect a Gold Cup from him now but we'll see how he comes along.
3with object Invite (someone) to one's home or a function.
邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会）
it's about time we asked Pam to dinner
差不多该我们请帕姆吃饭了。
Example sentencesExamples
- Once, her mother asked her to come home for a function and there she heard that some ceremony was to take place.
Synonyms
invite, bid, have someone over, have someone round, summon
1. 3.1ask someone along Invite someone to join one on an outing.
  邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会）
  do you want to ask him along?
  你想邀他一起出游吗？
  Example sentencesExamples
  ‘Yea,’ said Ian smiling, flattered that Rich has asked him along.
  I concluded that I was asked along as a member of the ladies football fraternity, and so thought it best to bring a colleague.
  And on Friday they emailed me back and asked me along.
  An abundance of alcohol leads the boys to let their proverbial hair down; they ask Verdu along on a summer road trip, thinking she'll never say yes.
  Last week Alison asked me along to a public meeting.
  I don't know whether it might have been very wise, proper and dignified for the PM to have asked Latham along.
  Normally it would just be for my year, but I thought I would ask you along anyway.
  Maybe we could ask Beth along as well, that would be fun.
  ‘Leave him,’ said Blaise, just as Isis had opened her mouth to ask whether or not to ask him along.
  I want to encourage people to ask me along, whether they want me to give a talk, or offer advice.
  You told him you'd asked Ally along on Sunday?
  He doesn't ask me along, and I don't feel comfortable asking him if I can go if he doesn't want me to come.
  Nobody's calling you or asking you along to the Royal College of Art.
  ‘But, um, thanks for asking me along,’ she added as she passed me.
  Similarly, he suspected that as managing director he was asked along to the second meeting too.
  Yeah, he's a great friend and all, but I just never expected that you would ask him along!
  Jonathan looked at her with an embarrassed smile, ‘I actually I was considering asking you along but couldn't work up the nerve.’
  ‘You asked me along to remedy any wounds that might be inflicted upon your men - or even Adam or you,’ she said.
  She asked me along to make sure he didn't try anything on, and I must have stayed in there for about four hours marvelling at this great wonder of the world.
  When word got out that they were going to ask Rick along, the staff thought it was a great idea.
2. 3.2ask someone out Invite someone out socially, typically on a date.
  （多指在某一约定日期）邀请某人外出游玩，约某人出去娱乐
  Example sentencesExamples
  She then completely surprised me by asking me out for a second date.
  She says I have to call her as soon as Aaron asks me out on a real date.
  As one candidate said, ‘It's like asking someone out on a date, and on top of that, they pay.’
  Have any of your customers ever asked you out on a date?
  I'm surprised that you weren't asked out on dates every second!
  This can be as simple as inviting a boy to sit with you or as involved as straight-up asking him out on a date.
  The conversation led in such a way that the only way to get to know her better was to ask her out on a date.
  Then again, I sent a stranger a fake story in order to get him to call and ask me out on a date.
  Here I thought he was actually expecting me to find a gift for his mother… when he was asking me out on another date!
  She asks why he never called her after their first date, and then asks him out again.
  So if he asks you out, you would date him, correct?
  So, the process of asking someone out on a date can get really complex, as you are required to do it by making open statements.
  It was foolish of me to assume he was asking me out on a date.
  It's like asking someone out for a date - perseverance never hurts when it comes to getting what you want.
  We hang out sometimes, but would it be weird to ask him out for a date?
  The other Ryan, whom I'm still friends with, is asking me out on dates and telling all my friends how much he cares about me.
  I don't even really know if he was asking me out as a date!
  The first time he said this - way back when we were freshers at Bristol University - I thought he fancied me and was asking me out on a date.
  He got her mobile number and asked her out on a date the next day.
  If he asks you out on a date, say no, sorry, you have a boyfriend and aren't interested.

nounæskask

1A request, especially for a donation.
it was an awkward ask for more funding
Example sentencesExamples
- It's a difficult ask, this film, but I think actually there are rewards to be had.
- Even while away, I realised that this last goal was going to be an impossible ask.
- The manager's positive mindset has rubbed off on players who refuse to believe the task of holding Rangers is too big an ask.
- You're blessed with the first two, but the last may be too big an ask.
- And we must also remember that he has never won a Major going into the final round behind - so it will be a tough ask.
- On television it's a hard ask to represent this film accurately, but here goes.
- Getting people to sit up until midnight to see him puff the new series could be a bigger ask.
- It's a tough ask to actually work out what is lower glycaemic index, it's not readily apparent.
- For any youngster to make an impact on the selectors in Australia, the prime ask would be consistency.
- That includes recruiting people, and in the technology sector, that has been a difficult ask.
- This year though, retaining the Stella trophy will be a tougher ask.
- From where you sit, is it too big an ask of the committees that you sit on, to be taking that on board?
- I know it's a cheeky ask, and close to the point, but your help could make all the difference…
- So it's very sad but of course that was a huge ask and in the wild I doubt that she would have got any through.
- Locke explains that Charlie can ask for them three times, on the third ask, he will give them back - this was the first.
- They tried valiantly but in the end the ask was too much.
- I came here with the intention of keeping them in the Premierleague but now, being realistic, that's a hard ask.
- For anyone to come up with anything constructive is a huge ask and task!
1. 1.1 The price at which an item, especially a financial security, is offered for sale.
  〈美〉物品（尤指金融证券）的售价
  as modifier ask prices for bonds
  政府债券的售价。
  Example sentencesExamples
  They stand ready to buy and sell Nasdaq stocks, and they are required to post their bid and ask prices.
  But with a soft rental market from an overhang of properties in the next year or so, that will be a tough ask.
  Typically, if you are going to buy a stock, then you will pay a price near the posted ask.
  The difference between the bid and the ask prices is referred to as the spread.
  If you end up paying around two thirds of the initial ask then you are doing fine.

Phrases

be asking for it (or trouble)

informal Behave in a way that is likely to result in difficulty for oneself.
〈非正式〉自找麻烦
they accused me of asking for it
Example sentencesExamples
- To leave parking badges in the car outside your own front door, especially overnight, is asking for trouble.
- With only half an hour until curtain up at the Odeon, we quickly decide that choosing a dessert would simply be asking for trouble - though it proves to be yet another Promethean struggle to get the bill.
- It is asking for trouble to stoke up the fires again.
- Well, they were asking for it, I suppose.
- In fact, despite talk about the powerlessness of women, this play seems to tell us that Desdemona was asking for it.
- I think this sort of thing is asking for trouble.
- Forcing them out in the middle of the night is asking for trouble.
- Indeed, don't imbibe on an empty stomach, that is asking for trouble.
- Expecting others, from different backgrounds, to adopt our own ways of doing things is asking for trouble.
- Any more than that and you were asking for trouble.
- I guess the sea air got to the stewards, but really, they were asking for trouble.
- Let's face it, passing the shears to gardeners convinced they see a shape within a tree or shrub is asking for trouble.
- It was always going to be controversial but to adopt such an extreme, libertarian view is biased and is asking for trouble.
- Of course, these kids were asking for trouble with their actions.
- An unmanned building in an area where there is a lot of problems with unruly behaviour is asking for trouble.
- For example, nobody tells a carjacking victim who drives a nice looking car that he/she was asking for trouble.
- Going budget in the jungle is asking for trouble: for every pound you save, you'll get five mosquito bites and a bout of heatstroke.
- Casting the part in real life is asking for trouble.
- Walking in the dark is asking for trouble as the chosen path may be full of, or littered with obstacles.
- Calling yourself a writer for doing stuff that no one has ever read is asking for it, although actually, people are usually kind and interested.

don't ask me!

informal Used to indicate that one does not know the answer to a question and that one is surprised or irritated to be questioned.
〈非正式〉用于表示不知道问题的答案我不知道
“Is he her boyfriend then?” “Don't ask me!”

for the asking

Used to indicate that something can be easily obtained.
用于表示如果想得到某种东西就能轻易到手只需提出要求便能得到
the job was his for the asking
只要他提出，那工作他便能轻易到手。
Example sentencesExamples
- Every variety I could think of was there for the asking.
- In most campaigns, strong operational managers can be yours for the asking.
- If you're willing to look, many of these items are in construction-site trash bins free for the asking.
- Every type of vacation experience, every form of recreation, every convenience is available for the asking at Lake Tahoe.
- Many technology job seekers, wowed by all the hype of a labor shortage, sometimes think that a position is theirs for the asking.
- Upgrades are often available just for the asking.
- The store has an 80-page catalog of books, computer software and videos, free for the asking.
- It is ours for the asking, at any time and in any place!
- What this means is there are free books to read for the asking!
- This sounds as if promotion was hers for the asking.
- They are within our grasp, practically for the asking.
- Consequently, there's a lot of useful information here for the asking.
- This almost always means advertising, the bane of readers' existence, but it's the reason most content on the net remains free for the asking.
- Now you have the choice of coloured lenses, and if you want blue, green, grey, or hazel eyes to match that tinted hair, it is yours for the asking.
- Either on site or within a short distance, there is just about any kind of sporting activity you could imagine, yours for the asking.
- Solar energy is not to be had for the asking in a cloud forest.
- Virtually every manufacturer has well-presented catalogs just for the asking.
- It is free for the asking, contains good tutorials and sample models, and was designed to be accessible.
- Whilst we sometimes feel as though we live globally in the proximity of a timebomb, artistic revelation is there for the asking.
- Expedition of hearings in this Court is not available for the asking.

I ask you!

informal An exclamation of shock or disapproval intended to elicit agreement from one's listener.
〈非正式〉用于表示惊诧或不赞成，意在使听者表示同意自己刚说过的话这算怎么回事！这说得过去吗？
A toaster for a birthday present? I ask you!
Example sentencesExamples
- Why otherwise would sales charts (sales charts, I ask you!) become the obsessional focus for interactions between pop and society?
- ‘Even on her Bachelorette Party,’ exclaimed Emily, ‘I ask you!’
- The story's an abecedary (an abecedary, I ask you!) with the main characters A, N (the narrator) and Z (Zaccheus).

if you ask me

informal Used to emphasize that a statement is one's personal opinion.
〈非正式〉用于强调所言仅是个人看法我认为，依我看
if you ask me, it's just an excuse for laziness
依我看，这不过是一个偷懒的借口。
Example sentencesExamples
- Anyone who thinks they're unreasonable is being unreasonable themselves, if you ask me.
- We've done very well without them for hundreds of years, if you ask me.
- She's lovely in person, but her speeches are a bit boring if you ask me.
- All in all, the book has a cartoony quality to it, but that's to be expected and encouraged, if you ask me.
- These evasive tactics have saved many a relationship for the last many years, but now things have gone out of hand if you ask me.
- Now I don't want to go off on a rant here, but if you ask me, this proposal doesn't go far enough.
- I'm not jumping to conclusions, but this looks suspicious if you ask me.
- There's a few more jockeys that need waking up at dawn if you ask me.
- In jest or not, this is not particularly sporting if you ask me.
- It seems like a shifty way to completely screw your computer up if you ask me.
- I still feel we were robbed, but what can you do - it's all politics if you ask me.
- That is a pretty ugly vehicle if you ask me, but I like the musical score for that advertisement.
- I dunno, they sound like reasonable people to cast if you ask me.
- Now there is a bit of freedom when wearing boxers, too much if you ask me!
- Any sport where you bleed as a matter of course is a bit silly, if you ask me.
- The river has been coming back up all week - much nicer that way, if you ask me.
- The post only got a couple of comments, but let me tell you, the girl looked pretty fine if you ask me.
- It's already happening, if you ask me, right now, with this example.
- It's not so much the money that causes stress, if you ask me, it's the things we do to get it.
- Fair enough, a bit overkill if you ask me, but you can see the logic.
Synonyms
for my part, for my own part, for myself, according to my way of thinking, to my mind, in my estimation, as far as i am concerned, in my opinion, in my view, in my own opinion, in my own view, from my own point of view, from where i stand, from my standpoint, as i see it, if you ask me, for my money, in my book

Origin

Old English āscian, āhsian, āxian, of West Germanic origin.

词汇	ask
释义	Definition of ask in English: ask verb ɑːskæsk 1reporting verb Say something in order to obtain an answer or some information. 问，询问 with object and clause I asked her what she meant with object people are always asking questions 人们总是在提问题。 with direct speech ‘How much further?’ I asked no object the old man asked about her job 那位老人打听她的工作情况。 Example sentencesExamples My question actually asked whether this would be a better course of action. We've seem them fritter away hours of valuable time asking and answering trivial questions that could easily have been settled by a phone call or two. There must also be serious questions asked about the handling of this situation by the administrators. is a good question to ask, and the answer tells us something important. There is an old adage in survey work - the questions you ask determine the answers you get. Many obstacles are encountered when asking and answering questions about how to care for patients. It was a simple question that asked whether Parliament should have another look at these laws. I have no care plan that I am aware of, when I once asked about it I was given a vague answer about not everyone having one. There's a simple way to avoid having to ask or answer that question. We'd be asked sort of general questions, and then asked to ramble answers that might one day be useful. As I have said if he doesn't like my answers, he should ask better questions. Questions that shareholders are asking require urgent answers. The next morning my consultant asked about events during the night, and I mentioned the referral. He told him certain questions that might be asked about their relationship. In such a structure, questions will be asked about whose interests are best being served. Of course, questions should be asked about past maintenance, but that will not solve the hazard posed here and now. She was willing to do anything if she'd get some answers and he stopped asking all these questions. Huge questions have to be asked about the whole principle of collecting and managing such a fund. He hadn't answered her when she asked if he had been okay, just stood up and walked away. Questions are being asked about whether this was coincidence or conspiracy. Synonyms enquire (of), query, want to know, question, put a question to, interrogate, quiz, cross-question, cross-examine, catechize informal grill, pump, give the third degree to put, put forward, pose, raise, submit, propose, seek/get the answer to 1.1ask aroundno object Talk to different people in order to find out something. 四处打听 there are fine meals to be had if you ask around 如果你四处打听一下就能吃上美食。 Example sentencesExamples After asking around, I found out it happens all the time. A friend of the family lost £400 and someone else got a bill for £700. After much asking around, he managed to find out where the man lived. At the same time, I am quietly asking around and looking into other opportunities. At first, I thought it was just our area but I've been asking around and apparently, almost all of the areas (if not all) are suffering this drought. Start your research by asking around and reading guidebooks to get together some ideas. I started asking around among those friends who had literature degrees, English degrees, well-read others, but have found no one who can tell me the name of any myth about a horse eating nothing but rose petals. They asked around and at least five different people have seen him. You can invent your own roving itinerary, circumnavigating by jeep or bike or kayak, camping on the beach or overnighting in the host homes you'll find in most villages just by asking around. He said: ‘I'm now asking around, trying to get hold of a tandem to hire.’ We were asking around town who the best people to do this kind of record with were, and everyone said we should talk to James and Tim. I have been asking around to see if anyone has seen two white fantail doves. In order to keep her new identity a tight secret it bans journalists from even asking around for information about her new name or whereabouts, let alone publishing the details. We have got a lot of people asking around and the local youngsters are upset about it so they are making inquiries too. We asked around a lot and people told us that the clothes and so on seem to date back to the early 50s. I have been asking around and trying to find out exactly when all this started but no-one seems to know and we're not being told anything. I have put up a few adverts and asked around and even had a few calls from interested people but I want to find the right person to take some of my best customers on. She thought the dog had been dumped there and was asking around all week if anyone had lost a dog. This week I needed to get some commonly used cells from a few different places, so this involved asking around. I started asking around for a ride up to Jerusalem and got lucky on the second try. When someone takes something from your desk, why do they wait until you start asking around to tell you that they have it? 1.2ask after" or Scottish "ask forBritish no object Enquire about the health or well-being of. 询问…的健康（或生活状况） if I see him I'll tell him you were asking after him 如果我见到他我会告诉他你曾问起他的健康状况。 Example sentencesExamples It was unbelievable, everyone was asking after her. Crammed into eight lines in block capitals, the postcards ask after family and friends and wish a happy birthday to a much-loved brother. I also know someone who I considered one of my better friends knows I was attacked, because his girlfriend has been asking after my welfare, but he hasn't been in touch at all. If they don't see me for a while, they ask after me. I asked after his dad, off on holiday in Majorca, and his uncle, who is the guy that's going to do my new roof for me. Flat cap in hand, the foreign secretary strides from doorstep to corner shop, greeting many voters by name and asking after their fathers. She wasn't saying much today, other than to ask after my wife and baby. He had told her that the girls had been around to ask after her. So I don't feel like I'm missing out on any of that- and here's where the complaining comes in- I just hate people constantly asking after my well-being, like it's oh so sad that I don't have any big holiday plans. Instead she went to the village barber who acted as the local surgeon and asked after the health of her opponent. Although rivalry was intense between the two clubs, she always showed an interest in how my children were getting on and always asked after them. Since then there has been a deafening silence from punters - we've received three emails asking after Dan's health, including one from a creditor. Many of his regular customers who had known him for years asked after him and wished him well. I fight the urge to ask after the health of his son. I would like to thank everyone who phoned to ask after Matt. He asked after my parents and enquired into the wellbeing of my wife and kids. He'd sometimes send a brief message asking after his father's health. The look she gave her was full of understanding and Diana felt that Virginia wasn't asking after her health. She asks after him every two minutes; but how do you explain something like that to a child? I have had lots of people stopping me to ask after him. 2with object Say to (someone) that one wants them to do or give something. 请求…做，要求…给予 Mary asked her father for money 玛丽向她父亲要钱。 with object and infinitive I asked him to call the manager no object don't be afraid to ask for advice 别怕征求意见。 Example sentencesExamples My cohort noticed a sign asking people to please not put cigarettes out on the carpet. Have you been contacted by anyone asking you to sign up for a pyramid-type savings scheme or have you already joined one? If you can make this commitment we ask you to sign the registration sheet that is available at the back of church. A sign has been erected asking people to take away any rubbish from the graveyard and not to just dump it in the corner as was previously the situation. They have signs all over asking customers to return their trays to the collection point, which is fine. We didn't close at any point, we simply put up a sign asking people to bear with us while we had the window repaired. In front was a sign asking all visitors to report to reception. He wasn't asked to plea during his appearance today and did not ask for bail. Many of them have put up signs in their windows asking drivers to cut their speed to no more than 20 mph. Is it too much to ask for to have at least one popular or semi-popular boy ask me to one of the dances or even out for pizza. If you would like to join up for these lessons, you are asked to register for the course as soon as possible. I think when your boss asks you to sign a waiver, that's not a voluntary action on your part. I made some nice posters, and stood in the foyer of student buildings asking people to sign petitions for an equal age of consent. When he came to take up his position he was asked to sign a code of conduct which bound him to agreeing in public to any decision taken by the board. I did not understand the logic of asking me to apply only to say no, but there we are. If you're asking users to register for a newsletter, ask for only an email address. It was a really secretive process and I wasn't even sure who I was applying to until they asked me to come in for an interview! This will give you a separate e-mail address you can give any time any site asks you to register. To continue the footballing analogy, it is like asking footballers to sign a formal declaration before each game that they will not cheat and will always play fair. A part of the money has been spent on signs asking people not to feed the birds. If you do get the promise of a concession by special request, ask for written confirmation from the airline. Synonyms request, demand, appeal to, apply to, petition, call on, entreat, beg, implore, exhort, urge, enjoin, importune, pray, solicit, beseech, plead with, sue, supplicate seek, put in for, call for, crave 2.1with clause Say that one wants permission to do something. 要求（允许做某事） she asked if she could move in 她问她能不能搬进来。 with infinitive he asked to see the officer involved 他要求见有关的官员。 with object you should have asked my permission first Example sentencesExamples It was a five minute time where the two people pretty much faced off; no asking permission from the speaker, just going at it. Without waiting on permission or asking his Commanding Officer he led two hundred men. As if I couldn't tell by his serious expression, he let himself in instead of asking permission. You find yourself asking permission to do things all the time. Bury council is also demanding people ask permission to film or take photographs, but has so far not extended the ban to phones. Don't ask others for permission, as they'll often express their own fears, with the best of intentions. But this story about Tivo asking the FCC for permission to add new features is changing my mind. Jenny - what woman in their right mind would ask her ex for permission to date her next boyfriend? The thought of asking permission to beat a prisoner senseless is so far down the line of probability that it doesn't raise a flicker on his radar screen. Bruno takes honey from a beehive, which teaches him the importance of asking permission and of giving to others. I would have preferred asking Perla for permission rather than Amina. We also need to ask the chief's permission to kayak down his tribe's river. I knew it was about my father, but it felt like she was asking me permission to ask something about him. 2.2ask forno object Say that one wants to speak to. when I arrived I asked for Katrina 我一到就去找卡特里娜谈。 Example sentencesExamples One French client asks for a Canadian airman because he ‘prefers the [Québécois] accent.’ An elderly man answered the door and, when Setisia asked for Astell, requested her name. Natasha, forcing a sly smile, asks for the host. 2.3 Say that one wants (a specified amount) as a price for selling something. 索价，要价 he was asking £250 for the guitar 这把吉他他要价250英镑。 Example sentencesExamples It's not even as if the price America was being asked was so awful. No, Olympic Plaza isn't Broadway, but then this Guys and Dolls isn't asking Broadway prices, either. I would probably have taken half the asked amount just to get the thing off my hands. We've noticed that houses are staying on the market longer, and that they are often selling for prices below asking. However, he felt the price residents were being asked to pay was too high. They haggled for a lower price than that being asked and got the wreck for probably not too much more than it was worth. This isn't a greedy seller asking a ridiculous amount no one will pay. On the way out, it occurred to me that if they sold everything on that table for the prices they were asking, they would probably make up a third of the film's budget. But art market sources say he's selling the heart of his collection - and asking high prices. 2.4 Expect or demand (something) of someone. 指望（从某人那里）得到；（向某人）索取 it's asking a lot, but could you look through Billy's things? 你要求得太多了，不过你能不能到比利的东西里翻翻看？ Example sentencesExamples To return to her own ‘world’ seemed to be asking the highest price of her one could. It is also asking a lot to expect players to repeat such a performance within days in a European competition. He asks an incredible amount from his viewers. Of course, it would be asking an awful lot to expect a Gold Cup from him now but we'll see how he comes along. All members are asked to attend and new members are invited to the meeting. Is it also too much to ask that album reviews provide some idea of what to expect from the record in question? With her injury still clearly troubling her, it is asking a lot to expect her to come back. To ask them to take something from theater or dance or music, to see the indirect sources of creativity that they could use is asking them a lot. It will be asking a lot of Maxwell to expect a fourth monumental effort in Friday's semi-final against Nepal. The Notice of Appeal also asks this court in effect to hold that the defence of qualified privilege in each of its forms has no real prospect of success. It's far more demanding and you are asking a lot of part-time players to make that step up. I completely fail to understand how and why anyone would think the voiceover-free version is confusing - it's not a film that asks a huge amount of its audience. Nobody is any longer asking them to apologise for the past: the demands for apology are now focused on the government. It is asking a lot to expect him to do well this year in Paris but, provided he stays fit and avoids the pressure cooker of national expectation, he will be back. 3with object Invite (someone) to one's home or a function. 邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会） it's about time we asked Pam to dinner 差不多该我们请帕姆吃饭了。 she asked him round for a drink 她邀他出来喝一杯。 Example sentencesExamples Once, her mother asked her to come home for a function and there she heard that some ceremony was to take place. Synonyms invite, bid, have someone over/round, summon request the pleasure of someone's company 3.1ask someone along Invite someone to join one on a group outing. 邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会） do you want to ask him along? 你想邀他一起出游吗？ Example sentencesExamples Last week Alison asked me along to a public meeting. When word got out that they were going to ask Rick along, the staff thought it was a great idea. Maybe we could ask Beth along as well, that would be fun. I want to encourage people to ask me along, whether they want me to give a talk, or offer advice. She asked me along to make sure he didn't try anything on, and I must have stayed in there for about four hours marvelling at this great wonder of the world. ‘Leave him,’ said Blaise, just as Isis had opened her mouth to ask whether or not to ask him along. You told him you'd asked Ally along on Sunday? Normally it would just be for my year, but I thought I would ask you along anyway. Nobody's calling you or asking you along to the Royal College of Art. He doesn't ask me along, and I don't feel comfortable asking him if I can go if he doesn't want me to come. I don't know whether it might have been very wise, proper and dignified for the PM to have asked Latham along. ‘Yea,’ said Ian smiling, flattered that Rich has asked him along. An abundance of alcohol leads the boys to let their proverbial hair down; they ask Verdu along on a summer road trip, thinking she'll never say yes. ‘But, um, thanks for asking me along,’ she added as she passed me. ‘You asked me along to remedy any wounds that might be inflicted upon your men - or even Adam or you,’ she said. Yeah, he's a great friend and all, but I just never expected that you would ask him along! Similarly, he suspected that as managing director he was asked along to the second meeting too. Jonathan looked at her with an embarrassed smile, ‘I actually I was considering asking you along but couldn't work up the nerve.’ I concluded that I was asked along as a member of the ladies football fraternity, and so thought it best to bring a colleague. And on Friday they emailed me back and asked me along. 3.2ask someone out Invite someone out on a date. a few boys asked her out but never the right ones Example sentencesExamples It's like asking someone out for a date - perseverance never hurts when it comes to getting what you want. Have any of your customers ever asked you out on a date? So if he asks you out, you would date him, correct? Then again, I sent a stranger a fake story in order to get him to call and ask me out on a date. She then completely surprised me by asking me out for a second date. She asks why he never called her after their first date, and then asks him out again. I don't even really know if he was asking me out as a date! It was foolish of me to assume he was asking me out on a date. This can be as simple as inviting a boy to sit with you or as involved as straight-up asking him out on a date. We hang out sometimes, but would it be weird to ask him out for a date? As one candidate said, ‘It's like asking someone out on a date, and on top of that, they pay.’ The first time he said this - way back when we were freshers at Bristol University - I thought he fancied me and was asking me out on a date. She says I have to call her as soon as Aaron asks me out on a real date. So, the process of asking someone out on a date can get really complex, as you are required to do it by making open statements. The conversation led in such a way that the only way to get to know her better was to ask her out on a date. Here I thought he was actually expecting me to find a gift for his mother… when he was asking me out on another date! The other Ryan, whom I'm still friends with, is asking me out on dates and telling all my friends how much he cares about me. I'm surprised that you weren't asked out on dates every second! He got her mobile number and asked her out on a date the next day. If he asks you out on a date, say no, sorry, you have a boyfriend and aren't interested. noun ɑːskæsk 1informal with adjective A demand or situation that requires a specified degree of effort or commitment. 〈非正式〉较为棘手的要求（或情形），非轻而易举之事 it is a big ask for him to go and play 90 minutes 要他上场踢90分钟真有点为难他。 it was a tough ask, but they delivered 这有一定的难度，但他们做到了。 Example sentencesExamples I have got another year of my degree to go, and I know playing professional rugby and doing my degree would be a big ask. Our staff and volunteers aim to grant a wish for every day of the year, which is a big ask. It's always a big ask, and cases against the powerful are difficult cases, but that's what courts are for, and it's the responsibility of those who are there to enforce the law to take on difficult cases. I don't want to go into the game in a negative frame of mind but we have to be realistic and admit it will be a big ask to get two points off Leeds. If we get four wins we will make the play-offs, but it's a big ask. 2US A request, especially for a donation. it was an awkward ask for more funding 2.1 The price at which an item, especially a financial security, is offered for sale. 〈美〉物品（尤指金融证券）的售价 as modifier ask prices for bonds 政府债券的售价。 Phrases ask me another informal Used to indicate that one does not know the answer to a question. 〈非正式〉用于表示不知道问题的答案我不知道 ‘What do they quarrel about?’ queried Ruth. ‘Ask me another!’ “他们在吵什么？”鲁思问。“我也不知道。” be asking for trouble (or it) informal Behave in a way that is likely to result in difficulty for oneself. 〈非正式〉自找麻烦 it would simply be asking for trouble for me to spend the night here Example sentencesExamples It is asking for trouble to stoke up the fires again. Walking in the dark is asking for trouble as the chosen path may be full of, or littered with obstacles. Casting the part in real life is asking for trouble. Forcing them out in the middle of the night is asking for trouble. In fact, despite talk about the powerlessness of women, this play seems to tell us that Desdemona was asking for it. Calling yourself a writer for doing stuff that no one has ever read is asking for it, although actually, people are usually kind and interested. Of course, these kids were asking for trouble with their actions. An unmanned building in an area where there is a lot of problems with unruly behaviour is asking for trouble. Well, they were asking for it, I suppose. Any more than that and you were asking for trouble. Indeed, don't imbibe on an empty stomach, that is asking for trouble. For example, nobody tells a carjacking victim who drives a nice looking car that he/she was asking for trouble. Let's face it, passing the shears to gardeners convinced they see a shape within a tree or shrub is asking for trouble. With only half an hour until curtain up at the Odeon, we quickly decide that choosing a dessert would simply be asking for trouble - though it proves to be yet another Promethean struggle to get the bill. To leave parking badges in the car outside your own front door, especially overnight, is asking for trouble. It was always going to be controversial but to adopt such an extreme, libertarian view is biased and is asking for trouble. I think this sort of thing is asking for trouble. I guess the sea air got to the stewards, but really, they were asking for trouble. Expecting others, from different backgrounds, to adopt our own ways of doing things is asking for trouble. Going budget in the jungle is asking for trouble: for every pound you save, you'll get five mosquito bites and a bout of heatstroke. don't ask me! informal Used to indicate that one has no idea of the answer to a question. 〈非正式〉用于表示不知道问题的答案我不知道 ‘Is he her boyfriend then?’ ‘Don't ask me!’ for the asking Used to indicate that someone can easily have something if they want it. 用于表示如果想得到某种东西就能轻易到手只需提出要求便能得到 the job was his for the asking 只要他提出，那工作他便能轻易到手。 Example sentencesExamples Every variety I could think of was there for the asking. Many technology job seekers, wowed by all the hype of a labor shortage, sometimes think that a position is theirs for the asking. What this means is there are free books to read for the asking! Consequently, there's a lot of useful information here for the asking. Every type of vacation experience, every form of recreation, every convenience is available for the asking at Lake Tahoe. It is ours for the asking, at any time and in any place! If you're willing to look, many of these items are in construction-site trash bins free for the asking. In most campaigns, strong operational managers can be yours for the asking. It is free for the asking, contains good tutorials and sample models, and was designed to be accessible. Solar energy is not to be had for the asking in a cloud forest. The store has an 80-page catalog of books, computer software and videos, free for the asking. They are within our grasp, practically for the asking. Whilst we sometimes feel as though we live globally in the proximity of a timebomb, artistic revelation is there for the asking. This sounds as if promotion was hers for the asking. Virtually every manufacturer has well-presented catalogs just for the asking. Either on site or within a short distance, there is just about any kind of sporting activity you could imagine, yours for the asking. Expedition of hearings in this Court is not available for the asking. This almost always means advertising, the bane of readers' existence, but it's the reason most content on the net remains free for the asking. Now you have the choice of coloured lenses, and if you want blue, green, grey, or hazel eyes to match that tinted hair, it is yours for the asking. Upgrades are often available just for the asking. I ask you! informal An exclamation of shock or disapproval intended to elicit agreement from one's listener. 〈非正式〉用于表示惊诧或不赞成，意在使听者表示同意自己刚说过的话这算怎么回事！这说得过去吗？ ringing me up on Christmas Day, I ask you! 圣诞节给我打电话，这说得过去吗？ Example sentencesExamples Why otherwise would sales charts (sales charts, I ask you!) become the obsessional focus for interactions between pop and society? The story's an abecedary (an abecedary, I ask you!) with the main characters A, N (the narrator) and Z (Zaccheus). ‘Even on her Bachelorette Party,’ exclaimed Emily, ‘I ask you!’ if you ask me informal Used to emphasize that a statement is one's personal opinion. 〈非正式〉用于强调所言仅是个人看法我认为，依我看 if you ask me, it's just an excuse for laziness 依我看，这不过是一个偷懒的借口。 Example sentencesExamples We've done very well without them for hundreds of years, if you ask me. I dunno, they sound like reasonable people to cast if you ask me. It seems like a shifty way to completely screw your computer up if you ask me. She's lovely in person, but her speeches are a bit boring if you ask me. I still feel we were robbed, but what can you do - it's all politics if you ask me. It's not so much the money that causes stress, if you ask me, it's the things we do to get it. There's a few more jockeys that need waking up at dawn if you ask me. The post only got a couple of comments, but let me tell you, the girl looked pretty fine if you ask me. I'm not jumping to conclusions, but this looks suspicious if you ask me. In jest or not, this is not particularly sporting if you ask me. It's already happening, if you ask me, right now, with this example. All in all, the book has a cartoony quality to it, but that's to be expected and encouraged, if you ask me. Fair enough, a bit overkill if you ask me, but you can see the logic. Anyone who thinks they're unreasonable is being unreasonable themselves, if you ask me. Now there is a bit of freedom when wearing boxers, too much if you ask me! These evasive tactics have saved many a relationship for the last many years, but now things have gone out of hand if you ask me. That is a pretty ugly vehicle if you ask me, but I like the musical score for that advertisement. Any sport where you bleed as a matter of course is a bit silly, if you ask me. The river has been coming back up all week - much nicer that way, if you ask me. Now I don't want to go off on a rant here, but if you ask me, this proposal doesn't go far enough. Synonyms for my part, for my own part, for myself, according to my way of thinking, to my mind, in my estimation, as far as i am concerned, in my opinion, in my view, in my own opinion, in my own view, from my own point of view, from where i stand, from my standpoint, as i see it, if you ask me, for my money, in my book Derivatives asker noun ˈɑːskəˈæskər I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that the askers of these questions are usually in a relationship that's dead in the water but maybe haven't admitted it to themselves yet. Example sentencesExamples The asker must be holding at least one card of the rank asked for. Such a response is not fair to the asker of the question. The asker is a middle-aged woman, and one of about 50 people who turned up to the Edmonton Art Gallery for a guided tour of the traveling show. I crossed the recently pedestrianized town centre on a hunt for cat equipment, and saw two competing groups of question askers. Origin Old English āscian, āhsian, āxian, of West Germanic origin. Like many short but vital words, ask is Old English. Variations of the saying ask a silly question and you get a silly answer date back to at least the 13th century. It has a biblical source, ‘Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit’, from the Book of Proverbs. A big ask is a difficult demand to make of someone, a lot to ask. The phrase originates in Australia, where it was first recorded in 1987, but has spread quickly into British English, and is a favourite of sports players, commentators, and writers, as in the example ‘If we get four wins we will make the play-offs, but it's a big ask’ (Bolton Evening News). Rhymes bask, cask, flask, Krasnoyarsk, mask, masque, task verb.1 phr. Definition of ask in US English: ask verbæskask 1reporting verb Say something in order to obtain an answer or some information. 问，询问 with object people are always asking questions 人们总是在提问题。 with direct speech “How much further?” I asked no object the old man asked about her job 那位老人打听她的工作情况。 with clause he asked if she wanted coffee he asked whether his electric wheelchair would fit through their doors Example sentencesExamples The next morning my consultant asked about events during the night, and I mentioned the referral. Questions are being asked about whether this was coincidence or conspiracy. He hadn't answered her when she asked if he had been okay, just stood up and walked away. Huge questions have to be asked about the whole principle of collecting and managing such a fund. Many obstacles are encountered when asking and answering questions about how to care for patients. There's a simple way to avoid having to ask or answer that question. We'd be asked sort of general questions, and then asked to ramble answers that might one day be useful. We've seem them fritter away hours of valuable time asking and answering trivial questions that could easily have been settled by a phone call or two. It was a simple question that asked whether Parliament should have another look at these laws. Of course, questions should be asked about past maintenance, but that will not solve the hazard posed here and now. is a good question to ask, and the answer tells us something important. As I have said if he doesn't like my answers, he should ask better questions. My question actually asked whether this would be a better course of action. In such a structure, questions will be asked about whose interests are best being served. I have no care plan that I am aware of, when I once asked about it I was given a vague answer about not everyone having one. Questions that shareholders are asking require urgent answers. There must also be serious questions asked about the handling of this situation by the administrators. He told him certain questions that might be asked about their relationship. She was willing to do anything if she'd get some answers and he stopped asking all these questions. There is an old adage in survey work - the questions you ask determine the answers you get. Synonyms enquire, enquire of, query, want to know, question, put a question to, interrogate, quiz, cross-question, cross-examine, catechize put, put forward, pose, raise, submit, propose, get the answer to, seek the answer to 1.1ask aroundno object Talk to various people in order to find something out. 四处打听 there are fine meals to be had if you ask around 如果你四处打听一下就能吃上美食。 Example sentencesExamples After much asking around, he managed to find out where the man lived. I have been asking around to see if anyone has seen two white fantail doves. At the same time, I am quietly asking around and looking into other opportunities. I have been asking around and trying to find out exactly when all this started but no-one seems to know and we're not being told anything. You can invent your own roving itinerary, circumnavigating by jeep or bike or kayak, camping on the beach or overnighting in the host homes you'll find in most villages just by asking around. We were asking around town who the best people to do this kind of record with were, and everyone said we should talk to James and Tim. We asked around a lot and people told us that the clothes and so on seem to date back to the early 50s. We have got a lot of people asking around and the local youngsters are upset about it so they are making inquiries too. I have put up a few adverts and asked around and even had a few calls from interested people but I want to find the right person to take some of my best customers on. He said: ‘I'm now asking around, trying to get hold of a tandem to hire.’ In order to keep her new identity a tight secret it bans journalists from even asking around for information about her new name or whereabouts, let alone publishing the details. At first, I thought it was just our area but I've been asking around and apparently, almost all of the areas (if not all) are suffering this drought. After asking around, I found out it happens all the time. A friend of the family lost £400 and someone else got a bill for £700. I started asking around among those friends who had literature degrees, English degrees, well-read others, but have found no one who can tell me the name of any myth about a horse eating nothing but rose petals. Start your research by asking around and reading guidebooks to get together some ideas. She thought the dog had been dumped there and was asking around all week if anyone had lost a dog. This week I needed to get some commonly used cells from a few different places, so this involved asking around. They asked around and at least five different people have seen him. I started asking around for a ride up to Jerusalem and got lucky on the second try. When someone takes something from your desk, why do they wait until you start asking around to tell you that they have it? 1.2ask after" or Scottish "ask forBritish no object Inquire about the health or well-being of. 询问…的健康（或生活状况） Mrs. Savage asked after Iris's mother Example sentencesExamples If they don't see me for a while, they ask after me. He asked after my parents and enquired into the wellbeing of my wife and kids. Crammed into eight lines in block capitals, the postcards ask after family and friends and wish a happy birthday to a much-loved brother. He had told her that the girls had been around to ask after her. I fight the urge to ask after the health of his son. Although rivalry was intense between the two clubs, she always showed an interest in how my children were getting on and always asked after them. She wasn't saying much today, other than to ask after my wife and baby. I have had lots of people stopping me to ask after him. I also know someone who I considered one of my better friends knows I was attacked, because his girlfriend has been asking after my welfare, but he hasn't been in touch at all. Flat cap in hand, the foreign secretary strides from doorstep to corner shop, greeting many voters by name and asking after their fathers. The look she gave her was full of understanding and Diana felt that Virginia wasn't asking after her health. Since then there has been a deafening silence from punters - we've received three emails asking after Dan's health, including one from a creditor. He'd sometimes send a brief message asking after his father's health. She asks after him every two minutes; but how do you explain something like that to a child? So I don't feel like I'm missing out on any of that- and here's where the complaining comes in- I just hate people constantly asking after my well-being, like it's oh so sad that I don't have any big holiday plans. I asked after his dad, off on holiday in Majorca, and his uncle, who is the guy that's going to do my new roof for me. Instead she went to the village barber who acted as the local surgeon and asked after the health of her opponent. It was unbelievable, everyone was asking after her. I would like to thank everyone who phoned to ask after Matt. Many of his regular customers who had known him for years asked after him and wished him well. 2with object Request (someone) to do or give something. 请求…做，要求…给予 Mary asked her father for money 玛丽向她父亲要钱。 with object and infinitive I asked him to call the manager no object don't be afraid to ask for advice 别怕征求意见。 Example sentencesExamples He wasn't asked to plea during his appearance today and did not ask for bail. Have you been contacted by anyone asking you to sign up for a pyramid-type savings scheme or have you already joined one? It was a really secretive process and I wasn't even sure who I was applying to until they asked me to come in for an interview! I made some nice posters, and stood in the foyer of student buildings asking people to sign petitions for an equal age of consent. If you do get the promise of a concession by special request, ask for written confirmation from the airline. If you would like to join up for these lessons, you are asked to register for the course as soon as possible. I think when your boss asks you to sign a waiver, that's not a voluntary action on your part. Is it too much to ask for to have at least one popular or semi-popular boy ask me to one of the dances or even out for pizza. To continue the footballing analogy, it is like asking footballers to sign a formal declaration before each game that they will not cheat and will always play fair. My cohort noticed a sign asking people to please not put cigarettes out on the carpet. When he came to take up his position he was asked to sign a code of conduct which bound him to agreeing in public to any decision taken by the board. We didn't close at any point, we simply put up a sign asking people to bear with us while we had the window repaired. If you're asking users to register for a newsletter, ask for only an email address. This will give you a separate e-mail address you can give any time any site asks you to register. A sign has been erected asking people to take away any rubbish from the graveyard and not to just dump it in the corner as was previously the situation. A part of the money has been spent on signs asking people not to feed the birds. They have signs all over asking customers to return their trays to the collection point, which is fine. I did not understand the logic of asking me to apply only to say no, but there we are. Many of them have put up signs in their windows asking drivers to cut their speed to no more than 20 mph. If you can make this commitment we ask you to sign the registration sheet that is available at the back of church. In front was a sign asking all visitors to report to reception. Synonyms request, demand, appeal to, apply to, petition, call on, entreat, beg, implore, exhort, urge, enjoin, importune, pray, solicit, beseech, plead with, sue, supplicate 2.1with clause Request permission to do something. 请求…做，要求…给予 she asked if she could move in 她问她能不能搬进来。 with infinitive he asked to see the officer involved 他要求见有关的官员。 Example sentencesExamples Jenny - what woman in their right mind would ask her ex for permission to date her next boyfriend? Bruno takes honey from a beehive, which teaches him the importance of asking permission and of giving to others. But this story about Tivo asking the FCC for permission to add new features is changing my mind. The thought of asking permission to beat a prisoner senseless is so far down the line of probability that it doesn't raise a flicker on his radar screen. Without waiting on permission or asking his Commanding Officer he led two hundred men. It was a five minute time where the two people pretty much faced off; no asking permission from the speaker, just going at it. Bury council is also demanding people ask permission to film or take photographs, but has so far not extended the ban to phones. I would have preferred asking Perla for permission rather than Amina. We also need to ask the chief's permission to kayak down his tribe's river. As if I couldn't tell by his serious expression, he let himself in instead of asking permission. Don't ask others for permission, as they'll often express their own fears, with the best of intentions. I knew it was about my father, but it felt like she was asking me permission to ask something about him. You find yourself asking permission to do things all the time. 2.2ask forno object Request to speak to. 请求和…说话 when I arrived, I asked for Catherine 我一到就去找卡特里娜谈。 Example sentencesExamples An elderly man answered the door and, when Setisia asked for Astell, requested her name. One French client asks for a Canadian airman because he ‘prefers the [Québécois] accent.’ Natasha, forcing a sly smile, asks for the host. 2.3 Request (a specified amount) as a price for selling something. 索价，要价 he was asking $250 for the guitar 这把吉他他要价250英镑。 Example sentencesExamples This isn't a greedy seller asking a ridiculous amount no one will pay. But art market sources say he's selling the heart of his collection - and asking high prices. It's not even as if the price America was being asked was so awful. We've noticed that houses are staying on the market longer, and that they are often selling for prices below asking. I would probably have taken half the asked amount just to get the thing off my hands. On the way out, it occurred to me that if they sold everything on that table for the prices they were asking, they would probably make up a third of the film's budget. No, Olympic Plaza isn't Broadway, but then this Guys and Dolls isn't asking Broadway prices, either. They haggled for a lower price than that being asked and got the wreck for probably not too much more than it was worth. However, he felt the price residents were being asked to pay was too high. 2.4 Expect or demand (something) of someone. 指望（从某人那里）得到；（向某人）索取 it's asking a lot, but could you look through Billy's things? 你要求得太多了，不过你能不能到比利的东西里翻翻看？ Example sentencesExamples I completely fail to understand how and why anyone would think the voiceover-free version is confusing - it's not a film that asks a huge amount of its audience. It will be asking a lot of Maxwell to expect a fourth monumental effort in Friday's semi-final against Nepal. All members are asked to attend and new members are invited to the meeting. To ask them to take something from theater or dance or music, to see the indirect sources of creativity that they could use is asking them a lot. To return to her own ‘world’ seemed to be asking the highest price of her one could. With her injury still clearly troubling her, it is asking a lot to expect her to come back. The Notice of Appeal also asks this court in effect to hold that the defence of qualified privilege in each of its forms has no real prospect of success. He asks an incredible amount from his viewers. It's far more demanding and you are asking a lot of part-time players to make that step up. It is also asking a lot to expect players to repeat such a performance within days in a European competition. Nobody is any longer asking them to apologise for the past: the demands for apology are now focused on the government. Is it also too much to ask that album reviews provide some idea of what to expect from the record in question? It is asking a lot to expect him to do well this year in Paris but, provided he stays fit and avoids the pressure cooker of national expectation, he will be back. Of course, it would be asking an awful lot to expect a Gold Cup from him now but we'll see how he comes along. 3with object Invite (someone) to one's home or a function. 邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会） it's about time we asked Pam to dinner 差不多该我们请帕姆吃饭了。 Example sentencesExamples Once, her mother asked her to come home for a function and there she heard that some ceremony was to take place. Synonyms invite, bid, have someone over, have someone round, summon 3.1ask someone along Invite someone to join one on an outing. 邀请（某人到家里或参加宴会） do you want to ask him along? 你想邀他一起出游吗？ Example sentencesExamples ‘Yea,’ said Ian smiling, flattered that Rich has asked him along. I concluded that I was asked along as a member of the ladies football fraternity, and so thought it best to bring a colleague. And on Friday they emailed me back and asked me along. An abundance of alcohol leads the boys to let their proverbial hair down; they ask Verdu along on a summer road trip, thinking she'll never say yes. Last week Alison asked me along to a public meeting. I don't know whether it might have been very wise, proper and dignified for the PM to have asked Latham along. Normally it would just be for my year, but I thought I would ask you along anyway. Maybe we could ask Beth along as well, that would be fun. ‘Leave him,’ said Blaise, just as Isis had opened her mouth to ask whether or not to ask him along. I want to encourage people to ask me along, whether they want me to give a talk, or offer advice. You told him you'd asked Ally along on Sunday? He doesn't ask me along, and I don't feel comfortable asking him if I can go if he doesn't want me to come. Nobody's calling you or asking you along to the Royal College of Art. ‘But, um, thanks for asking me along,’ she added as she passed me. Similarly, he suspected that as managing director he was asked along to the second meeting too. Yeah, he's a great friend and all, but I just never expected that you would ask him along! Jonathan looked at her with an embarrassed smile, ‘I actually I was considering asking you along but couldn't work up the nerve.’ ‘You asked me along to remedy any wounds that might be inflicted upon your men - or even Adam or you,’ she said. She asked me along to make sure he didn't try anything on, and I must have stayed in there for about four hours marvelling at this great wonder of the world. When word got out that they were going to ask Rick along, the staff thought it was a great idea. 3.2ask someone out Invite someone out socially, typically on a date. （多指在某一约定日期）邀请某人外出游玩，约某人出去娱乐 Example sentencesExamples She then completely surprised me by asking me out for a second date. She says I have to call her as soon as Aaron asks me out on a real date. As one candidate said, ‘It's like asking someone out on a date, and on top of that, they pay.’ Have any of your customers ever asked you out on a date? I'm surprised that you weren't asked out on dates every second! This can be as simple as inviting a boy to sit with you or as involved as straight-up asking him out on a date. The conversation led in such a way that the only way to get to know her better was to ask her out on a date. Then again, I sent a stranger a fake story in order to get him to call and ask me out on a date. Here I thought he was actually expecting me to find a gift for his mother… when he was asking me out on another date! She asks why he never called her after their first date, and then asks him out again. So if he asks you out, you would date him, correct? So, the process of asking someone out on a date can get really complex, as you are required to do it by making open statements. It was foolish of me to assume he was asking me out on a date. It's like asking someone out for a date - perseverance never hurts when it comes to getting what you want. We hang out sometimes, but would it be weird to ask him out for a date? The other Ryan, whom I'm still friends with, is asking me out on dates and telling all my friends how much he cares about me. I don't even really know if he was asking me out as a date! The first time he said this - way back when we were freshers at Bristol University - I thought he fancied me and was asking me out on a date. He got her mobile number and asked her out on a date the next day. If he asks you out on a date, say no, sorry, you have a boyfriend and aren't interested. nounæskask US 1A request, especially for a donation. it was an awkward ask for more funding Example sentencesExamples It's a difficult ask, this film, but I think actually there are rewards to be had. Even while away, I realised that this last goal was going to be an impossible ask. The manager's positive mindset has rubbed off on players who refuse to believe the task of holding Rangers is too big an ask. You're blessed with the first two, but the last may be too big an ask. And we must also remember that he has never won a Major going into the final round behind - so it will be a tough ask. On television it's a hard ask to represent this film accurately, but here goes. Getting people to sit up until midnight to see him puff the new series could be a bigger ask. It's a tough ask to actually work out what is lower glycaemic index, it's not readily apparent. For any youngster to make an impact on the selectors in Australia, the prime ask would be consistency. That includes recruiting people, and in the technology sector, that has been a difficult ask. This year though, retaining the Stella trophy will be a tougher ask. From where you sit, is it too big an ask of the committees that you sit on, to be taking that on board? I know it's a cheeky ask, and close to the point, but your help could make all the difference… So it's very sad but of course that was a huge ask and in the wild I doubt that she would have got any through. Locke explains that Charlie can ask for them three times, on the third ask, he will give them back - this was the first. They tried valiantly but in the end the ask was too much. I came here with the intention of keeping them in the Premierleague but now, being realistic, that's a hard ask. For anyone to come up with anything constructive is a huge ask and task! 1.1 The price at which an item, especially a financial security, is offered for sale. 〈美〉物品（尤指金融证券）的售价 as modifier ask prices for bonds 政府债券的售价。 Example sentencesExamples They stand ready to buy and sell Nasdaq stocks, and they are required to post their bid and ask prices. But with a soft rental market from an overhang of properties in the next year or so, that will be a tough ask. Typically, if you are going to buy a stock, then you will pay a price near the posted ask. The difference between the bid and the ask prices is referred to as the spread. If you end up paying around two thirds of the initial ask then you are doing fine. Phrases be asking for it (or trouble) informal Behave in a way that is likely to result in difficulty for oneself. 〈非正式〉自找麻烦 they accused me of asking for it Example sentencesExamples To leave parking badges in the car outside your own front door, especially overnight, is asking for trouble. With only half an hour until curtain up at the Odeon, we quickly decide that choosing a dessert would simply be asking for trouble - though it proves to be yet another Promethean struggle to get the bill. It is asking for trouble to stoke up the fires again. Well, they were asking for it, I suppose. In fact, despite talk about the powerlessness of women, this play seems to tell us that Desdemona was asking for it. I think this sort of thing is asking for trouble. Forcing them out in the middle of the night is asking for trouble. Indeed, don't imbibe on an empty stomach, that is asking for trouble. Expecting others, from different backgrounds, to adopt our own ways of doing things is asking for trouble. Any more than that and you were asking for trouble. I guess the sea air got to the stewards, but really, they were asking for trouble. Let's face it, passing the shears to gardeners convinced they see a shape within a tree or shrub is asking for trouble. It was always going to be controversial but to adopt such an extreme, libertarian view is biased and is asking for trouble. Of course, these kids were asking for trouble with their actions. An unmanned building in an area where there is a lot of problems with unruly behaviour is asking for trouble. For example, nobody tells a carjacking victim who drives a nice looking car that he/she was asking for trouble. Going budget in the jungle is asking for trouble: for every pound you save, you'll get five mosquito bites and a bout of heatstroke. Casting the part in real life is asking for trouble. Walking in the dark is asking for trouble as the chosen path may be full of, or littered with obstacles. Calling yourself a writer for doing stuff that no one has ever read is asking for it, although actually, people are usually kind and interested. don't ask me! informal Used to indicate that one does not know the answer to a question and that one is surprised or irritated to be questioned. 〈非正式〉用于表示不知道问题的答案我不知道 “Is he her boyfriend then?” “Don't ask me!” for the asking Used to indicate that something can be easily obtained. 用于表示如果想得到某种东西就能轻易到手只需提出要求便能得到 the job was his for the asking 只要他提出，那工作他便能轻易到手。 Example sentencesExamples Every variety I could think of was there for the asking. In most campaigns, strong operational managers can be yours for the asking. If you're willing to look, many of these items are in construction-site trash bins free for the asking. Every type of vacation experience, every form of recreation, every convenience is available for the asking at Lake Tahoe. Many technology job seekers, wowed by all the hype of a labor shortage, sometimes think that a position is theirs for the asking. Upgrades are often available just for the asking. The store has an 80-page catalog of books, computer software and videos, free for the asking. It is ours for the asking, at any time and in any place! What this means is there are free books to read for the asking! This sounds as if promotion was hers for the asking. They are within our grasp, practically for the asking. Consequently, there's a lot of useful information here for the asking. This almost always means advertising, the bane of readers' existence, but it's the reason most content on the net remains free for the asking. Now you have the choice of coloured lenses, and if you want blue, green, grey, or hazel eyes to match that tinted hair, it is yours for the asking. Either on site or within a short distance, there is just about any kind of sporting activity you could imagine, yours for the asking. Solar energy is not to be had for the asking in a cloud forest. Virtually every manufacturer has well-presented catalogs just for the asking. It is free for the asking, contains good tutorials and sample models, and was designed to be accessible. Whilst we sometimes feel as though we live globally in the proximity of a timebomb, artistic revelation is there for the asking. Expedition of hearings in this Court is not available for the asking. I ask you! informal An exclamation of shock or disapproval intended to elicit agreement from one's listener. 〈非正式〉用于表示惊诧或不赞成，意在使听者表示同意自己刚说过的话这算怎么回事！这说得过去吗？ A toaster for a birthday present? I ask you! Example sentencesExamples Why otherwise would sales charts (sales charts, I ask you!) become the obsessional focus for interactions between pop and society? ‘Even on her Bachelorette Party,’ exclaimed Emily, ‘I ask you!’ The story's an abecedary (an abecedary, I ask you!) with the main characters A, N (the narrator) and Z (Zaccheus). if you ask me informal Used to emphasize that a statement is one's personal opinion. 〈非正式〉用于强调所言仅是个人看法我认为，依我看 if you ask me, it's just an excuse for laziness 依我看，这不过是一个偷懒的借口。 Example sentencesExamples Anyone who thinks they're unreasonable is being unreasonable themselves, if you ask me. We've done very well without them for hundreds of years, if you ask me. She's lovely in person, but her speeches are a bit boring if you ask me. All in all, the book has a cartoony quality to it, but that's to be expected and encouraged, if you ask me. These evasive tactics have saved many a relationship for the last many years, but now things have gone out of hand if you ask me. Now I don't want to go off on a rant here, but if you ask me, this proposal doesn't go far enough. I'm not jumping to conclusions, but this looks suspicious if you ask me. There's a few more jockeys that need waking up at dawn if you ask me. In jest or not, this is not particularly sporting if you ask me. It seems like a shifty way to completely screw your computer up if you ask me. I still feel we were robbed, but what can you do - it's all politics if you ask me. That is a pretty ugly vehicle if you ask me, but I like the musical score for that advertisement. I dunno, they sound like reasonable people to cast if you ask me. Now there is a bit of freedom when wearing boxers, too much if you ask me! Any sport where you bleed as a matter of course is a bit silly, if you ask me. The river has been coming back up all week - much nicer that way, if you ask me. The post only got a couple of comments, but let me tell you, the girl looked pretty fine if you ask me. It's already happening, if you ask me, right now, with this example. It's not so much the money that causes stress, if you ask me, it's the things we do to get it. Fair enough, a bit overkill if you ask me, but you can see the logic. Synonyms for my part, for my own part, for myself, according to my way of thinking, to my mind, in my estimation, as far as i am concerned, in my opinion, in my view, in my own opinion, in my own view, from my own point of view, from where i stand, from my standpoint, as i see it, if you ask me, for my money, in my book Origin Old English āscian, āhsian, āxian, of West Germanic origin. verb.1 phr.
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