asks

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of ask.

   Whenever the meeting opens, he asks the same blunt question.

   The committee chair asks each member to vote in turn.

   Note

   One of the few everyday verb forms that can carry two objects at once: she asks him a question, he asks the clerk a favor. It also takes a to-infinitive when someone is to do something (asks each member to vote), and it pairs with for when the thing wanted is named (asks for the bill). The same spelling serves the plural noun, so the sentence decides which one you are reading.

2. 2
   nouncolloquial

   Plural of ask.

   The fundraiser lined up three major asks for the gala that evening.

   Both asks on the agenda involve hiring additional staff.

   Note

   A plural that keeps the informality of its noun. Every noun use is casual, so it fits talk of fundraising targets, asking prices, or Tumblr messages answered in public. In formal writing it reads loosely, and requests is the safer choice. One surprise shares the spelling: in Scottish and other UK dialect, asks are newts and lizards, so a rural asks may have nothing to do with asking.

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