Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1200-1300
Language: Old French
Origin: enquerre, from Latin inquirere, from quaerere 'to look for'

inquire

 verb
     
in‧quire , enquire [intransitive and transitive] formal
to ask someone for information:
'Why are you doing that?' the boy inquired.
inquire about
I am writing to inquire about your advertisement in The Times.
inquire whether/why/how etc
The waiter inquired whether we would like to sit near the window.
inquire something of somebody
'Where's the station?' she inquired of a passer-by.
Toby would have liked to inquire further (=ask more questions).
—inquirer noun [countable]

inquire after somebody/something

phrasal verb
to ask about someone's health, what they are doing etc:
He called me aside to inquire after my daughter.

inquire into something

phrasal verb
to ask questions in order to get more information about something:
The investigation will inquire into the company's financial dealings.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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