solicit

«solicit» in Mova's school dictionary: To ask for something such as money, help or opinions… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (solicit, solicits, solicited, soliciting)

meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) To ask for something such as money, help or opinions, especially politely or officially. tree →

2) (formal) To try to get business or customers. tree →

3) (law) To ask someone in a public place for something illegal, which adults are forbidden to do. tree →

sense in the lessons

In formal letters and news: «The school solicited donations», «The council solicited residents' opinions». On signs: «No soliciting» means no selling door to door or asking for money here. In law it can mean asking for something illegal. Phrases: «solicit donations», «solicit feedback», «no soliciting».

examples

• The charity solicited donations for the flood victims. tree →
• The teacher solicited our ideas for the class trip. tree →
• The sign on the door said «No soliciting». tree →
• The council solicited opinions from people in the town. tree →
• It is against the rules to solicit money in the school car park. tree →
• The shop solicited feedback from its customers. tree →

note

Regular verb: solicited, soliciting (no doubled letters). Related: «solicitor» (in the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ: a kind of lawyer). «Solicit» is formal; everyday words: «ask for», «request». «Unsolicited» = not asked for (unsolicited advice).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «solicit» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.