ask out — invite on a date
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+informalcommon
to invite someone to go with you to a social event, especially because you are interested in starting a romantic relationship with them
Say it like a native
Textbook He invited her to accompany him on a romantic outing.
Native He asked her out.
'Ask out' is the natural verb for inviting someone on a date; the formal paraphrase is comical.
Pattern: ask someone out
In use
- Tom finally got the courage to ask Lisa out after weeks of thinking about it.relationships
- If I liked someone, I would probably ask them out for coffee to get to know them better.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He asked out her to dinner.
✓ He asked her out to dinner.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'ask her out', never 'ask out her'.
Common collocations
ask someone out— her, him, on a date, finally
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'ask for' (request something) or 'ask about' (inquire about something).