Meaning of please in English

please

exclamation

/pliːz/ us

/pliːz/

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used to make a request more polite:

Could I have two coffees and a tea, please?

Please remember to close the windows before you leave.

used to add force to a request or demand:

Please, David, put the knife down.

Oh, please. Do shut up!

used especially by children to a teacher or other adult in order to get their attention:

Please, Miss, I know the answer!

used when accepting something politely or enthusiastically:

"More potatoes?" "Please."

"May I bring my husband?" "Please do."

yes please "Would you like dessert?" "Oh, yes please."

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For further information, please contact your local library.
Can you pass the salt please?
Come on children, stop chatting and settle down please!
"Would you like a glass of wine?" "Yes please."
Someone's at the door - would you answer it please?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Polite expressions

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Making appeals & requests

Words & phrases expressing agreement & acceptance

Grammar

Please and thank you

Please and thank you are usually associated with politeness. We use them a lot in English. …

Please

We use please to make a request more polite: …

Thank you and thanks

We use expressions with thank you and thanks to respond to something politely and to show we are grateful for something. Thanks is more informal than thank you. We often add other words to make the response stronger: …

please

verb

/pliːz/ us

/pliːz/

B1 [ I or T ]

to make someone feel happy or satisfied, or to give someone pleasure:

I only got married to please my parents.

eager to please He was always a good boy, very friendly and eager to please.

hard to please

difficult to please

impossible to please

easy to please I thought the food was great, but I'm easy to please.

[ + obj + to infinitive ] It always pleases me to see a well-designed book!

C2 [ I ]

to want, like, or choose, when used with words such as "whatever", "whoever", and "anywhere":

whatever someone pleases Of course, you are free to do whatever you please.

as someone pleases She thinks she can just do as she pleases.

I shall go out with whomever I please.

if you please

mainly UK formal

used to express surprise and anger:

They want £200, if you please, just to replace a couple of broken windows!

old-fashioned or formal

used to make a request more polite:

Take your seats, ladies and gentlemen, if you please.

More examplesFewer examples

It would please Granny no end if you wrote to her occasionally.
I'll give you a key then you're free to come and go as you please.
He's a hard man to please.
I don't care about fashion - I dress how I please.
My niece is impossible when she's tired - you can't do anything to please her.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Causing pleasure

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Liking

Idioms

please God
please yourself
there's no pleasing someone

(Definition of please from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

please | American Dictionary

please

exclamation

/pliz/

please exclamation (POLITE REQUEST)

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commonly used in order to make a request more polite, or, sometimes, to make it stronger or urgent:

Could I please have some ketchup for my hamburger?

Please be sure to take all your personal belongings when you leave the train.

Please do as I say and don’t ask questions.

"Would you like some more salad?" "Please (= yes, I would)."

please

verb [ I/T ]

/pliz/

please verb [I/T] (MAKE HAPPY)

to make someone feel happy or satisfied, or to give someone pleasure:

[ I/T ] He did what he could to please her, but she was hard to please.

[ T ] I’m pleased to report that sales have increased by 15%.

[ I ] She’ll listen to what you say, but in the end she’ll do as/what she pleases (= what she wants to do).

(Definition of please from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of please

please

To please the experimenter, children might have produced labels about which they were uncertain.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If you think that two adjacent statements apply, please circle both.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One might prefer to be a gardener - simply pleasing oneself in the making of such a choice.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A vocal delivery that might seem haughty or conceited, too mellifluous or elegant, excessively 'musical', or calculated to please others must be avoided.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If you would like to discuss ideas for articles, please contact one of the editors.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Monetary incentives do not completely "crowd out" the subject's motive to please, but they are likely to attenuate this motive considerably.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In other words, husbands were not expected to simply dispose of their wives as they pleased.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In initial position the accentual status of please is somewhat controversial.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each statement.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is pleasing to find articles from regional newspapers which present their material with the authority of local knowledge.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If anyone knows where these materials are to be found, please let the author or this reviewer know.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Please provide at least two contexts in which the child used each word.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The result is a well-balanced selection that will probably please political, social, economic, and military historians alike.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The volume should please both the academic and the general reader alike, and will probably realize its aim of finding a home in travelers' backpacks.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of please?

Translations of please

in Chinese (Traditional)

好嗎，請（用於客氣地請求）, 請，求求你（用於加強請求或要求的語氣）, 讓我說（尤指兒童為引起老師或其他成年人的注意時的用語）…

in Chinese (Simplified)

好吗，请（用于客气地请求）, 请，求求你（用于加强请求或要求的语气）, 让我说（尤指儿童为引起老师或其他成年人的注意时的用语）…

in Spanish

por favor, aquí, sí…

in Portuguese

por favor!, agradar, por favor…

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कृपया, कृपाकरून, आनंदाने…

どうか, どうぞ（丁寧に依頼する時の言葉）, ～を喜ばせる…

Lütfen!', mutlu/memnun etmek, memnun etmek…

s’il te/vous plaît, je te/vous prie de, merci…

si us plau, complaure…

behagen, willen, alstublieft…

ஒரு கோரிக்கையை மிகவும் கண்ணியமாக கேட்கப் பயன்படுகிறது, ஒரு கோரிக்கை அல்லது கோரிக்கைக்கு வலுசேர்க்கப் பயன்படுகிறது, பணிவாகவோ அல்லது உற்சாகமாகவோ எதையாவது ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளும்போது பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது…

कृपया, किसी अनुरोध को और शिष्ट बनाने हेतु प्रयुक्त, कृपा कर के…

કૃપા કરીને, મહેરબાની કરીને, વિનંતી કે માગણીને પ્રબળ બનાવવા વપરાય છે.…

behage, glæde, ville…

behaga, vilja, var snäll och ……

menyenangkan hati orang, ingini, tolong…

zufriedenstellen, gefallen, bitte…