Ask crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Ask” are CLAIM, EXACT or PRESS, with 5 letters. Below are 42 answers from 3 to 11 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

BID 3 letters · verb

ask for or request earnestly “The prophet bid all people to become good persons”

NEED 4 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper

CLAIM 5 letters · verb

ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example “They claimed on the maximum allowable amount”

EXPECT 6 letters · verb

consider obligatory; request and expect “I expect my students to arrive in time for their lessons”

REQUIRE 7 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper “success usually requires hard work”

POSTULATE 9 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper “This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent”

OVERCHARGE 10 letters · verb

rip off; ask an unreasonable price

NECESSITATE 11 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, NEED, HOOK, WARN, SOAK and GRUB all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: N → NEED · H → HOOK · W → WARN · S → SOAK · G → GRUB. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, CLAIM, EXACT, PRESS, OFFER, APPLY and CRAVE all fit. The fourth letter tells them all apart: I → CLAIM · C → EXACT · S → PRESS · E → OFFER · L → APPLY · V → CRAVE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 3 squares, BID, ROB, BEG, BUM and DUN all fit. The third letter tells them all apart: D → BID · B → ROB · G → BEG · M → BUM · N → DUN. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “asked” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “ask” means

• verb: make a request or demand for something to somebody (“She asked him for a loan”)
• verb: direct or put; seek an answer to (“ask a question”)
• verb: consider obligatory; request and expect (“Aren't we asking too much of these children?”)
• verb: address a question to and expect an answer from (“Ask your teacher about trigonometry”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as ASK, and words whose definition is ASK. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.