need
Americannoun
-
needs
plural
-
a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation.
There is no need for you to go there.
-
a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary.
to fulfill the needs of the assignment.
-
urgent want, as of something requisite.
He has no need of your charity.
- Synonyms:
- requirement
-
necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case.
There is no need to worry.
-
a situation or time of difficulty; exigency.
to help a friend in need;
to be a friend in need.
- Synonyms:
- emergency
-
a condition marked by the lack of something requisite.
the need for leadership.
-
destitution; extreme poverty.
The family's need is acute.
- Antonyms:
- wealth
verb (used with object)
-
needs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
needed,
past participle, past
-
needing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
needs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
needed,
past participle, past
-
needing
present participle
-
to be under an obligation (used as an auxiliary, typically in an interrogative or in a negative statement, and followed by infinitive, in certain cases without to; in the 3d person singular the form is need, notneeds ).
He need not go.
-
to be in need or want.
-
to be necessary.
There needs no apology.
idioms
verb
-
(tr) to be in want of
to need money
-
(tr) to require or be required of necessity (to be or do something); be obliged
to need to do more work
-
(takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary in negative and interrogative sentences to express necessity or obligation, and does not add -s when used with he, she, it, and singular nouns
need he go?
-
archaic (intr) to be essential or necessary to
there needs no reason for this
noun
-
the fact or an instance of feeling the lack of something
he has need of a new coat
-
a requirement
the need for vengeance
-
necessity or obligation resulting from some situation
no need to be frightened
-
distress or extremity
a friend in need
-
extreme poverty or destitution; penury
Usage
What are other ways to say need? To need something is to have need of it. How does need compare to synonyms want, lack, and require? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
Need, necessity imply a want, a lack, or a demand, which must be filled. Need, a word of Old English origin, has connotations that make it strong in emotional appeal: the need to be appreciated. Necessity, a word of Latin origin, is more formal and impersonal or objective; though much stronger than need in expressing urgency or imperative demand, it is less effective in appealing to the emotions: Water is a necessity for living things.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
needsimple
-
needssimple
-
have neededperfect
-
has neededperfect
-
am needingprogressive
-
are needingprogressive
-
is needingprogressive
-
have been needingperfect progressive
-
has been needingperfect progressive
Past
-
neededsimple
-
had neededperfect
-
was needingprogressive
-
were needingprogressive
-
had been needingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of need
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun nede, Old English nēd ( West Saxon nīed ), cognate with German Not, Old Norse nauth, Gothic nauths
Explanation
A need is something essential: people need food, water, and shelter. When you lack them, you're in need. Besides physical needs like sleep, people have lots of psychological needs: like for love and friendship. To pass an exam, you need to study. To lose weight, you need to exercise more and eat less. Drug addicts feel a physical need for their drug — so do smokers. Often, we feel we need things that we actually just want: like a new video game or car. When someone is trying hard to get something, they might say "I need it!"
Vocabulary lists containing need
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Lyrics from "Umbrella" by Rihanna
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Unit 4
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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:
Her five-year-old son can join too, reducing the need and cost of after-school care for Vaughn's family.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
"People don't need to worry because the fuel is available," he added, noting more fuel shipments are expected to arrive within this week.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
“People in the U.S. need to wake up and not be compulsive,” she wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The bigger question is how high rates ultimately need to go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
I know I can’t let that stop me from telling her what I need to say.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Businesses can and should drive the innovation, but more needs to be done.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
"We need to recognise that the power of AI has moved faster than the safety for it. Safety needs to catch up. And we're going to need some new AI safety laws and rules."
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
For a plan to be submitted to government, it needs approval from all parties across affected councils.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
How much energy your body needs to move as an adult could be influenced by how active you were during childhood.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
“Mr. Graybill: Mrs. Pettibone needs help moving the settee in her room and has nominated you for the job.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
The mayor really needed a knockout punch, and that she did not get.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Arthur said the act was "vital" to driving research needed into the condition, but that Goodburn's meeting with Burnham could lead to further work in the field.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Long expects that another interest rate hike will be needed, likely in December.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
However, he said the size of the response that is now needed to contain inflation is uncertain, but may not be as large as investors now expect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
My words piled up in my throat like useless bricks, sealing off my ability to say what needed to be said.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
The researchers also did not evaluate whether the treatment slows cartilage loss or prevents patients from eventually needing joint replacement.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
It has also created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions of people needing medical help.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Center fielder Garrett Mitchell, who went to Orange Lutheran and UCLA, has overcome Type 1 diabetes while needing an insulin pump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The idea is to create a buffer against needing to sell stocks after a major market decline early, especially early in retirement.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
His father and mother exchanged a look, and she made an excuse about needing to check an email and left them alone.
From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty
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.
