in ‧ quire BrE AmE , enquire /ɪnˈkwaɪə $ -ˈkwaɪr/ verb [intransitive and transitive] formal
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: enquerre , from Latin inquirere , from quaerere 'to look for' ]
to ask someone for information:
‘Why are you doing that?’ the boy inquired.
inquire about
I am writing to inquire about your advertisement in ‘The Times’.
inquire whether/why/how etc
The waiter inquired whether we would like to sit near the window.
inquire something of somebody
‘Where’s the station?’ she inquired of a passer-by.
Toby would have liked to inquire further (=ask more questions) .
—inquirer noun [countable]
• • •
THESAURUS
■ ask a question
▪ ask to speak or write to someone to get an answer:
Did you ask about the price?
|
They asked me a lot of questions.
▪ inquire/enquire /ɪnˈkwaɪə $ -ˈkwaɪr/ formal to ask someone for information about something:
I’m writing to inquire about the job that was advertised in yesterday’s ‘Times’.
▪ demand especially written to ask a question in a firm or angry way:
‘Why didn’t you call me?’, she demanded.
▪ interview to ask someone questions, to find out if they are suitable for a job, or as part of a television or radio interview:
When they interviewed me for the job, they didn’t mention the salary.
|
David Letterman has interviewed all the stars.
▪ poll to officially ask a lot of people in order to find out their opinion on something:
Over 1,000 people were polled for the report.
|
64% of the people we polled said that they approved of the way the government had handled the crisis.
inquire after somebody/something phrasal verb
to ask about someone’s health, what they are doing etc:
He called me aside to inquire after my daughter.
inquire into something phrasal verb
to ask questions in order to get more information about something:
The investigation will inquire into the company’s financial dealings.