query
a question or request for information
Root
- quer / quis: seek, ask, question
Other words with the quer / quis root
- acquire: to gain or obtain
- acquisitive: eager to acquire things
- exquisite: finely made or intensely felt
- inquire: to ask or investigate
- inquiry: an investigation or question
- inquisitive: curious and eager to ask questions
- quest: a search or pursuit
Query is the direct ask: a focused request for an answer, detail, or explanation.
Her query forced the speaker to define the term he had been using loosely.
Query is smaller and sharper than question. It often feels like one precise ask sent into a system, document, database, or conversation.