verb

please

pleez

verb

To make someone happy or satisfied.

"It's hard to please everyone at once."

"She worked hard to please her new boss."

adv

Used to make a request sound polite.

"Could you please pass the salt?"

intj

Used to accept an offer politely.

""More tea?" "Yes, please.""

Used to express annoyance or disbelief.

"Oh, please — like that excuse would ever work."

How to Use Please

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither the verb meaning to make someone happy, or the everyday word we add to requests to be polite.

Common pairings

please and thank you hard to please yes, please

Word Forms

pleased past tense, pleas'd past tense, please plural, pleased plural, pleas'd plural, pleases singular, please singular, pleased singular, pleas'd singular, pleasest singular, pleasedst singular, pleaseth singular

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Can you complete this real example?

It's hard to _____ everyone at once.

Etymology

From Old French plaisir/plaire, from Latin placere ("to please, to seem good"). It displaced the older Old English word līcian, which survives today as "like."

Rhymes for please

case base mase vase ease tase Jase erase cease phase pease chase

See all rhymes for please →