pray

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To utter or address a prayer or prayers to God, a god, or another object of worship.
2. v. To make a fervent request or entreaty.
3. v. To utter or say a prayer or prayers to; address by prayer.
4. v. To ask (someone) imploringly; beseech. Now often used elliptically for I pray you to introduce a request or entreaty: Pray be careful.
5. v. To make a devout or earnest request for: I pray your permission to speak.
6. v. To move or bring by prayer or entreaty.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To ask earnestly; beg; entreat; supplicate, as for a personal grace or favor.
2. In religious usage, to make devout petition to God, or (in some forms of religion) to any object of worship, as a saint or an angel; more generally, to enter into spiritual communion with God, usually through the medium of speech. See prayer.
3. I pray, usually, by ellipsis, pray, a common formula introducing a question, invitation, suggestion, or request. Compare prithee.
4. To ask earnestly; beg; entreat; supplicate; urge.
5. In religious usage, to address a desire or petition to (specifically to God) devoutly and with reverence.
6. To offer up, as a prayer; utter in devotion.
7. To make entreaty or petition for; crave; implore: as, the plaintiff prays judgment of the court.
8. To effect, move, or bring by prayer or entreaty: followed by an adverb or a preposition particularizing the meaning.
9. Synonyms To crave, implore, beseech, petition, importune. See prayer.
10. An obsolete spelling of prey.
11. A dialectal form of pry.

Wiktionary

1. v. To petition or solicit help from a supernatural or higher being.
2. v. To humbly beg a person for aid or their time.
3. v. religion to communicate with God for any reason.
4. adv. please; used to make a polite request.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. obsolete See pry.
2. v. To make request with earnestness or zeal, as for something desired; to make entreaty or supplication; to offer prayer to a deity or divine being as a religious act; specifically, to address the Supreme Being with adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving.
3. v. To address earnest request to; to supplicate; to entreat; to implore; to beseech.
4. v. To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for.
5. v. To effect or accomplish by praying.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
2. v. call upon in supplication; entreat.