demand
Americanverb (used with object)
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to ask for with proper authority; claim as a right.
He demanded payment of the debt.
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to ask for peremptorily or urgently.
He demanded sanctuary. She demanded that we let her in.
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to call for or require as just, proper, or necessary.
This task demands patience. Justice demands objectivity.
- Synonyms:
- exact
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Law.
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to lay formal legal claim to.
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to summon, as to court.
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verb (used without object)
noun
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the act of demanding.
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something that is demanded.
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an urgent or pressing requirement.
demands upon one's time.
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Economics.
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the desire to purchase, coupled with the power to do so.
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the quantity of goods that buyers will take at a particular price.
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a requisition; a legal claim.
The demands of the client could not be met.
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the state of being wanted or sought for purchase or use.
an article in great demand.
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Archaic. inquiry; question.
idioms
verb
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to request peremptorily or urgently
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to require or need as just, urgent, etc
the situation demands attention
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to claim as a right; exact
his parents demanded obedience of him
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law to make a formal legal claim to (property, esp realty)
noun
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an urgent or peremptory requirement or request
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something that requires special effort or sacrifice
a demand on one's time
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the act of demanding something or the thing demanded
the kidnappers' demand was a million pounds
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an insistent question or query
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economics
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willingness and ability to purchase goods and services
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the amount of a commodity that consumers are willing and able to purchase at a specified price Compare supply 1
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law a formal legal claim, esp to real property
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sought after; popular
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as soon as requested
a draft payable on demand
Synonym Usage
Demand, claim, require imply making an authoritative request. To demand is to ask in a bold, authoritative way: to demand an explanation. To claim is to assert a right to something: He claimed it as his due. To require is to ask for something as being necessary; to compel: The Army requires absolute obedience of its soldiers.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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counterdemandnoun
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demandernoun
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superdemandnoun
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overdemandverb
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predemandverb (used with object)
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demandableadjective
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undemandedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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demandsimple
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demandssimple
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have demandedperfect
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has demandedperfect
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am demandingprogressive
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are demandingprogressive
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is demandingprogressive
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have been demandingperfect progressive
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has been demandingperfect progressive
Past
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demandedsimple
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had demandedperfect
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was demandingprogressive
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were demandingprogressive
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had been demandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demand
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English demaunden, from Anglo-French demaunder, from Medieval Latin dēmandāre “to demand,” Latin “to entrust,” equivalent to dē- negative prefix + mandāre “to commission, order”; see de-, mandate
Explanation
Demand means "an urgent request," like your demand that teachers give no homework on the weekend, or the act of making the request — teachers who demand that the work get done, even if it's the weekend. Demand comes from the Old French word demander, meaning "ask, make inquiry." A demand is a lot stronger than that, however. When you demand something, you want action now. A demand can also mean "to require" like cold weather that demands warm coats and boots. Demand is also an economic term, meaning "the amount of an item that can be sold," like the demand for those snow boots: high in winter and nonexistent in summer.
Vocabulary lists containing demand
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Their success could weaken demand for the expensive chips needed for cutting-edge models from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
"It's a milestone largely driven by demand for advanced AI electronics," Diego Flores, head of electronic and digital industries at Mexico's Economy Ministry, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Mayhew is calling for an urgent meeting with British Sugar, which he said told him that the firm had been loss-making for the past three years as demand for sugar is on a long-term decline.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Investors will increasingly demand evidence of user retention, revenue growth, pricing power and a credible path to profitability,” the strategist says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
In New York, intense demand quickly made chess sets an out-of-stock item at department stores such as Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Ranka, who met senior minister JP Nadda on Monday, said the government had yet to respond to their demands.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Our demands are clear. The youth have gathered in huge numbers,” he wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The $1.4 trillion in demands against Meta comes from the four states’ calculations under their consumer-protection laws—provisions addressing unfair or deceptive acts and practices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
It is a collision between the demands of her job and some of the deepest machinery in the human body.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Roosevelt threw himself into the physical demands of cattle roundups, bronco busting, and buffalo and grizzly bear hunting.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Bisignano demanded his own team pledge loyalty to him directly, people who spoke with him said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
It also demanded a nationwide review of fire safety standards at orphanages, care homes, hospitals and schools.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Lee denied the accusation and demanded the meeting be postponed.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Morocco has firmly rejected all the accusations made against it, and has demanded evidence.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
This was particularly time-consuming, for no matter how long the children scratched, the greedy squirrel always demanded more.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Slogans were also shouted inside the lower house by the opposition benches, demanding the resignation of the education minister and justice for students.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
BERLIN—Bedran Günes, 23, was manning the cash register at Ari Mini Markt, his grocery store, when two officers walked in, demanding to see his merchandise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
In a letter sent Friday demanding payment, county attorneys called the May 21 incident a “catastrophic failure” of the company’s chemical storage tank cooling system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
The uproar in South Korea that followed included the country’s president demanding an investigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Bill Donovan and James Roosevelt kept demanding the impossible, and she felt they condescended to her.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
