1 [with object] ask for or try to obtain (something) from someone:he called a meeting to solicit their views [no object]:don’t solicit for money
ask (someone) for something:historians and critics are solicited for opinions by the auction houses
2 [no object] accost someone and offer one’s or someone else’s services as a prostitute: (as noun soliciting)although prostitution was not itself an offence, soliciting was