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Enquire vs Query - What's the difference?

enquire | query |

In intransitive terms the difference between enquire and query

is that enquire is to make an enquiry while query is to ask a question.

As a noun query is

a question or inquiry.

enquire

English

Alternative forms

* inquire (chiefly US)

Verb

(enquir)
  • To make an enquiry.
    • He enquired about the availability of rental bicycles in the town.
  • (archaic) To ask about (something).
  • * (rfdate) (John Milton)
    • ''Having thus at length enquired the truth concerning Law and dispense.
  • * (rfdate) (Byron)
    • And all obey and few enquire his will.

    Usage notes

    (unreferenced) In the USA, inquire' is generally used in place of '''enquire'''. Where '''enquire''' is used (particularly in the UK), it means a non-official enquiry (such as to ask a question), whereas '''inquire''' is used in legal or government context where official transcripts are generated. In the USA, this distinction is not made and ' inquire is used generally.

    Related terms

    * enquiry

    query

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (archaic)

    Noun

    (queries)
  • A question or inquiry.
    • The teacher answered the student's query concerning biosynthesis.
  • A question mark.
  • * Oliver Sacks, Awakenings
    • She had written in her diary: "I don't think I am in a concentration-camp??????", the queries growing larger and more numerous till they covered the entire page
  • * 2006 , "Pip", Re: Royal Enfield motorbike - why would anyone buy one?'' (on newsgroup ''rec.motorcycles )
    • I refer you to your line above, where you use a query and a bang together.
  • (computing, databases) A set of instructions passed to a database.
    • The database admin switched on query logging for debugging purposes.

    Derived terms

    * query language * subquery

    Verb

  • To ask, inquire.
  • To ask a question.
  • To question or call into doubt.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=20 citation , passage=The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. No one queried it. It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.}}
  • (computing, databases) To pass a query to a database to retrieve information.
  • *
  • (internet) To send a private message to (a user on IRC).
  • * 2000 , "Phantom", Re: Uhm.. hi... I guess...'' (on newsgroup ''alt.support.boy-lovers )
    • He parted the channel saying "SHUTUP!"... so I queried him, asking if there was something I could do.. maybe talk...
  • * 2000 , "Robert Erdec", Re: Help; mIRC32; unable to resolve server arnes.si'' (on newsgroup ''alt.irc.mirc )
    • if you know someone who is in the channel, you can query them and ask for the key.

    Related terms

    * (l) * (l)