of a prostitute: to offer to have sexual relations with someone for money
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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
solicit suggests a calling attention to one's wants or desires by public announcement or advertisement.
a letter soliciting information
Example Sentences
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. See More
Recent Examples on the WebAccording to prosecutors, Dasko and two other men posed as girls online to chat with young boys and solicit videos and images of the boys. Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 July 2022 The complaints identify other posts appearing to recruit fighters and solicit funds to back pro-Russian separatists, which some legal experts suggest could violate U.S. sanctions laws, as well as Facebook’s rules.Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022 Joe’s message might solicit a moment of sisterly reflection, but the setup feels forced. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 4 Aug. 2022 Unlike other resale sites Drop 93 does not solicit consignment from third parties, but instead sources its wares from The Armoury’s VIP customers. Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 26 July 2022 The state Department of Environmental Management, which controls the land and manages the Port of Galilee to support the fishing industry, did solicit ideas to redevelop the site last year. Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 18 July 2022 Some schools, like the University of California Los Angeles, do not solicit or accept letters of recommendation. Norman Vanamee, Town & Country, 1 June 2022 Twitter’s board could solicit other proposals to take the company private, but available media reports suggest no serious competing offers emerged in between Musk launching his bid and Twitter accepting it. Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 13 May 2022 City officeholders cannot solicit such donations directly or indirectly through another person or entity. Emily Opilo, Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2022 See More
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