solicitation

solicitation — noun

1. a formal act of asking a person or an organization for money, help, information,

1.nounB2
Definition

a formal act of asking a person or an organization for money, help, information, or business, often carried out in writing or in person by charities, companies, or institutions

Example

The hospital sent a solicitation for donations to help fund its new children's wing.

collocation: solicitation for donations

Bao received a solicitation letter from a university asking alumni to fund a scholarship.

collocation: solicitation letter

Common collocations
  • fundraising solicitation
  • solicitation letter
  • solicitation of funds
  • solicitation of business
  • solicitation for donations
  • direct mail solicitation
  • door-to-door solicitation
Synonyms
  • request

    the broadest, most neutral term; works in formal and casual contexts alike

  • appeal

    more urgent or emotional, often used for help in difficult circumstances

  • petition

    a formal written request signed by many people, addressed to an authority

  • proposal

    suggests an offer or suggestion rather than a request

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

solicitation + for + noun phrase

solicitation + of + noun phrase

countable as 'solicitations' when referring to specific instances

Usage Note

Unlike sense 2 (legal context of sex work), this sense covers institutional or charitable requests. The word is notably formal — in everyday conversation, 'request' or 'appeal' is more natural. Regulations around financial and charitable solicitation vary by jurisdiction.

Common Mistakes

My friend made a solicitation for a ride to the airport.
My friend asked me for a ride to the airport.
Solicitation implies a formal or institutional request, not a casual personal favor.
The solicitation of the new law was successful.
The solicitation of support for the new law was successful.
You must specify what is being requested (money, support, information); the word cannot stand alone without an object.

2. a legal offense that occurs when someone suggests paying another person for a se

2.nounC1
Definition

a legal offense that occurs when someone suggests paying another person for a sexual act, particularly on a street or in a setting where other people are present

Example

Undercover officers arrested several people on solicitation charges near the city's main train station.

legal term: solicitation charges

Yara joined a community meeting about patrols to reduce street solicitation in her area.

collocation: street solicitation

Common collocations
  • solicitation laws
  • solicitation charges
  • solicitation arrest
  • street solicitation
  • solicitation case
Synonyms
  • prostitution

    broader term covering the entire practice of exchanging sex for money, not just the act of offering

  • sex work

    neutral, non-judgmental term preferred by advocacy groups

  • pandering

    US legal term for promoting or arranging prostitution of another person, distinct from soliciting for oneself

Grammar Patterns

solicitation + charges

arrest + for + solicitation

solicitation + laws

Usage Note

In legal contexts this sense refers specifically to offering or agreeing to sex work, not to receiving the service. The word is most common in criminal law terminology — 'solicitation' appears on police reports, court documents, and news reports about prostitution. Distinguished from sense 1 (FORMAL REQUEST) by context cues: police, arrest, charge, street, public place signal sense 2; charity, donation, fund, business, letter signal sense 1.

Common Mistakes

He was arrested for solicitation of money from a stranger.
He was arrested for solicitation
the undercover officer understood it as an offer of sex for money.' — In legal contexts, 'solicitation' alone refers to sex-for-money offers, not to asking for money generally.

Word family

  • solicit
    verbB2
  • solicitor
    nounB2
  • solicitous
    adjectiveC1
  • solicitude
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Request is the broadest, most neutral term — it covers any act of asking for something, from casual to formal. The remaining three words each add a specific tone. Appeal suggests urgency or emotion, often used when someone is in genuine need and is asking for help or money: a family might make a public appeal for a medical emergency. Petition is strictly a formal written document signed by multiple people and submitted to an authority: citizens start a petition to change a local law or to demand government action. Solicitation is institutional or commercial — a charity sends a solicitation for donations; a company engages in solicitation of new clients. Proposal leans in the opposite direction: instead of asking for something, it offers something for the other party to accept or reject. For example, a business submits a proposal to win a contract, while a charity sends a solicitation to raise funds.

request ↗appeal ↗petition ↗proposal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • door-to-door solicitation
  • direct mail solicitation
  • solicitation of funds

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Solicitation traces back to the Latin verb sollicitare meaning 'to disturb, stir up, or agitate,' which combines sollus ('entire, whole') and citare ('to set in motion, arouse'). Latin sollicitatio meant 'a disturbance' or 'an incitement.' The word passed into Old French as solicitacion and entered Middle English in the 15th century with the general sense of 'troubling' or 'urging.' Over the following centuries the meaning softened to 'earnest request.' The specific legal sense of offering sex for money developed in English in the early 20th century.