Inquire

//ɪnˈkwaɪə// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To ask (about something). Australia, Canada, US, ambitransitive, intransitive

    "May I inquire to whom I have the honor of speaking?"

  2. 2
    have a wish or desire to know something wordnet
  3. 3
    To make an inquiry or an investigation. ambitransitive, intransitive

    "Police are already inquiring into the incident."

  4. 4
    conduct an inquiry or investigation of wordnet
  5. 5
    To call; to name. ambitransitive, obsolete, transitive

    "Canute had his portion from the rest, The which he cald Canutium, for his hyre, Now Cantium, which Kent we commenly inquire."

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  1. 6
    address a question to and expect an answer from wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
askinvestigateascertainaskask a questionask about

Example

More examples

"I will inquire about the matter after I return home."

Etymology

From Latin inquīrō (“to seek for”), composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“I seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). Displaced Middle English enqueren (from Old French enquerre, of the same source) and native Middle English speir (“ask, inquire”).

Related phrases

inquire afterinquire of

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.