Skip to main content
to ask out

to ask out

363 2.3
To invite someone to go on a date because you like them
  • phrasal verb
  • /æsk aʊt/
translation icon : invitar a salir
  • I asked him out to dinner.

And I know I was asked out to prom and I said no.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • So I asked him out.

  • If you're planning on asking me out, you might as well get it over with.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • So to go back to our examples about should I ask this person out on a date?

  • You should definitely ask her out or something.

  • How about if I asked you out now?

  • If I had asked you out on a date, what would you have said?

  • And I would love to ask you out sometime.

  • Then nobody said anything for a painful few seconds, and he asked her out to dinner.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I'm gonna ask Bridget out finally.

  • After weeks of flirting, he finally decided to ask out the girl he liked.

Synonyms

to take out
vsto ask out
173 2.3

To invite someone to go out with you for a date

is used to request going on a date in general
to invite out
vsto ask out
  • Informal
12 3.1

To ask someone to go with you to a social event like dinner, often as a date

is specifically for romantic dating rather than ordinary social offers
to invite to dinner
vsto ask out
3 1.2

Ask someone to join you for an evening meal

is used for romantic dating rather than a simple shared meal

Antonyms

839 1.9

Refuse to accept someone or something

How Serious

to propose
114 3.5
to ask out
363 2.3

Surface Forms

ask out infinitive
asked out past
asked out past participle
asking out present participle
asks out third person singular

Morphology

ask + out

The combination of 'ask' (to request) + 'out' (to go out) yields a plausible meaning of inviting someone to go out socially, so learners who know both words can often infer an invitation. However, the specific romantic/date nuance and the phrasal-verb reading ('ask out' as a single lexical unit) are not fully predictable without exposure. Cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. languages that use a 'go out' construction for dating) increase partial recognizability but not full transparency.

Etymology

The phrase ask out comes from the simple image of ask plus out: you ask someone to go out with you, to leave home for dinner or a show. So ask out now means 'to invite someone on a date'.