solicit

verb

so·lic·it sə-ˈli-sət

solicited; soliciting; solicits

Synonyms of solicit next

transitive verb

formal

: to approach (someone) with a request or plea

solicited Congress for funding

The company is soliciting firms for bids.

: to make petition to : entreat

solicit the king for relief

formal : to try to obtain (something) by usually urgent requests or pleas

The center solicited donations to help victims of the earthquake.

solicited feedback from their users

They were charged with soliciting bribes.

formal : to offer to engage in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse with (someone) in exchange for pay

dated : to entice or lure especially into something unlawful or wrong : to lead astray

obsolete : to urge (something, such as one's cause) strongly

intransitive verb

formal : to make solicitation : to request urgently : importune

The organization is soliciting for donations.

formal : to offer to engage in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse with someone in exchange for pay

Did you know?

What object does solicit take?

When used as a transitive verb, solicit can take as an object either the thing being requested or the source from which the thing is requested:

Enterprising capitalists have been soliciting funds on the Internet for years, turning to a passel of sites like Kickstarter to aggregate small commitments from like-minded individuals on behalf of a new idea or worthy cause.
Dave Flessner, The Chattanooga Times Free Press, 5 Nov. 2015

County supervisors and staff spent much of the remainder of the board retreat planning for a series of focus groups that will solicit community input for the strategic plan.
Carmen Forman, The Roanoke Times, 31 Jan. 2016

They could be so nimble because they aggressively solicited a small group of doubters and broadcast their misgivings as if they were based on rigorous and systematic research.
Allan M. Brandt, The Cigarette Century, 2007

They are among the 9,500 volunteers, says the campaign, who have signed up to solicit their friends and families by hosting individual fund-raising Web pages for Obama.
Karen Tumulty, Time, 16 July 2007

Choose the Right Synonym for solicit

ask, request, solicit mean to seek to obtain by making one's wants known.

ask implies no more than the statement of the desire.

ask a favor of a friend

request implies greater formality and courtesy.

requests the pleasure of your company

solicit suggests a calling attention to one's wants or desires by public announcement or advertisement.

a letter soliciting information

Examples of solicit in a Sentence

The center is soliciting donations to help victims of the earthquake. The company is soliciting bids from various firms. The organization is soliciting new memberships. The newspaper's editors want to solicit opinions from readers. The organization is soliciting for donations. Special interest groups are soliciting Congress for funds. The prostitutes were arrested for soliciting customers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Does Miss Manners have a suggestion for a polite way of indicating that, since they couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge the first gift, subsequent gifts should not be solicited? —

Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024 What to watch: CHAI is soliciting feedback from different users and AI developers and plans to release a final version of its plan early next year. —

Tina Reed, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024 The world is full of information—some solicited and some not. —

Gregory Ostrowski, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024 Lambesis spent nearly three years in prison after he was arrested for soliciting an undercover agent to murder his then-wife, Meggan Lambesis. —

Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for solicit

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, to disturb, promote, from Anglo-French solliciter, from Latin sollicitare to disturb, from sollicitus anxious, from sollus whole (from Oscan; akin to Greek holos whole) + citus, past participle of ciēre to move — more at safe, -kinesis

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b

Time Traveler

The first known use of solicit was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Solicit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solicit. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

solicit

verb

so·lic·it sə-ˈlis-ət

: entreat, beg

especially : to approach with a request or appeal

: to appeal for

solicited the help of neighbors

: to lead especially into evil

: to approach for sinful purposes

solicitation

-ˌlis-ə-ˈtā-shən

noun

Legal Definition

solicit

transitive verb

so·lic·it sə-ˈli-sət

: to make petition to

solicit the court

: to ask, induce, advise, or command (a person) to do something and especially to commit a crime compare coerce, importune

: to attempt to persuade (a person) to purchase something

: to attempt to bring about or obtain by soliciting a person

solicit bribes

intransitive verb

: to make solicitation

of a prostitute : to offer to have sexual relations with someone for money

Last Updated: 20 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

negotiate

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

solicit

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Examples of solicit in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near solicit

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Legal Definition