want

American  

[wont, wawnt] / wɒnt, wɔnt /

verb (used with object)

• wants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wanted,
  past participle,  past
• wanting
  present participle

1. to feel a need or a desire for; wish for.

   to want one's dinner; always wanting something new.

   Synonyms:

   crave, require

2. to wish, need, crave, demand, or desire (often followed by an infinitive).

   I want to see you.

   She wants to be notified.

3. to be without or be deficient in.

   to want judgment; to want knowledge.

   Synonyms:

   need

4. to fall short by (a specified amount).

   The sum collected wants but a few dollars of the desired amount.

5. to require or need.

   The house wants painting.

---

verb (used without object)

• wants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wanted,
  past participle,  past
• wanting
  present participle

1. to feel inclined; wish; like (often followed byto ).

   We can stay home if you want.

2. to be deficient by the absence of some part or thing, or to feel or have a need (sometimes followed byfor ).

   He did not want for abilities.

3. to have need (usually followed byfor ).

   If you want for anything, let him know.

4. to be in a state of destitution, need, or poverty.

   She would never allow her parents to want.

5. to be lacking or absent, as a part or thing necessary to completeness.

   All that wants is his signature.

noun

1. something wanted or needed; necessity.

   My wants are few.

   Synonyms:

   desideratum

2. something desired, demanded, or required.

   a person of childish, capricious wants.

3. absence or deficiency of something desirable or requisite; lack.

   plants dying for want of rain.

   Synonyms:

   paucity, insufficiency, inadequacy, scarcity, dearth

4. the state of being without something desired or needed; need.

   to be in want of an assistant.

5. the state of being without the necessaries of life; destitution; poverty.

   a country where want is virtually unknown.

   Synonyms:

   indigence, penury, privation

6. a sense of lack or need of something.

   to feel a vague want.

idioms

1. want in / out,

   1. to desire to enter or leave.

      The cat wants in.

   2. Informal. to desire acceptance in or release from something specified.

      I talked with Louie about our plan, and he wants in.

want ¹ British  

/ wɒnt /

verb

1. (tr) to feel a need or longing for

   I want a new hat

2. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to wish, need, or desire (something or to do something)

   he wants to go home

3. to be lacking or deficient (in something necessary or desirable)

   the child wants for nothing

4. (tr) to feel the absence of

   lying on the ground makes me want my bed

5. (tr) to fall short by (a specified amount)

6. (tr) to have need of or require (doing or being something)

   your shoes want cleaning

7. (intr) to be destitute

8. (tr; often passive) to seek or request the presence of

   you're wanted upstairs

9. (intr) to be absent

10. informal (tr; takes an infinitive) should or ought (to do something)

    you don't want to go out so late

11. informal to wish to be included in a venture

12. informal to wish to be excluded from a venture

---

noun

1. the act or an instance of wanting

2. anything that is needed, desired, or lacked

   to supply someone's wants

3. a lack, shortage, or absence

   for want of common sense

4. the state of being in need; destitution

   the state should help those in want

5. a sense of lack; craving

want ² British  

/ wɒnt /

noun

1. dialect a mole

---

want More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing want

• waste not, want not

---

Usage

What are other ways to say want? To want is to feel a need or a desire for something. How is want different from desire and wish? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-want
  noun
• wanter
  noun
• wantlessness
  noun
• unwanted
  adjective
• wantless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• wanting
  present
• wanted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• want
  simple
• wants
  simple
• have wanted
  perfect
• has wanted
  perfect
• am wanting
  progressive
• are wanting
  progressive
• is wanting
  progressive
• have been wanting
  perfect progressive
• has been wanting
  perfect progressive

Past

• wanted
  simple
• had wanted
  perfect
• was wanting
  progressive
• were wanting
  progressive
• had been wanting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will want
  simple
• will have wanted
  perfect
• will be wanting
  progressive
• will have been wanting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of want

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English wante, from Old Norse vanta “to lack”

Explanation

In all its forms, want has to do with the lack of having and the desire to have. You can want or desire something you’d like, or you can be in want of something you need. The word want goes back to the 12th century and the Old Norse language, where vanta meant "to be deficient," or “in want.” If someone keeps bugging you, you might lose patience and ask, "What do you want?" If you are seeking employment, check the "want ads" or look for signs saying "Help Wanted." If you are a "wanted criminal," you might have trouble getting hired.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

want wants wanted wanting

Nadia Evangelou, an economist at the National Association of Realtors, says that what people want from their homes has also changed drastically.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

"If you have any information that could help us find Lillia, I would urge you to come forward. Her family just want her home."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Stations want to be first to get to the scene of breaking news.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

But, then again, maybe a critic who doesn’t want to shoot his phone would think differently.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

I feel slightly ashamed that I want to see the other Caesar, the one who aimed the gun.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Gelder said the reason for that could be that China, the world’s largest crude importer, wants to avoid driving up the price of crude.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

He is doing it again this year and wants me to visit him.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Through her multi-club ownership model, which already spans England, France and the United States, she wants the standards being established at London City to be replicated across the globe.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

It seems like McKinley wants to deliver a crushing blow, but then feints at the last minute, opting for a more optimistic kind of fantasy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

It’s a feeling I want to hold on to forever, and I forget that I’m just regular me, and I let myself be who I think he wants me to be.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

When he later got a job in Seattle, my folks wanted to move there, but they couldn’t afford it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

You could say we never really wanted to live in Bremerton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Horgan says she wanted to offer "an honest depiction of someone having a complicated relationship with ageing".

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

“She wanted a progression,” said the planner, Lewis Miller.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Japan wanted to eliminate Western influence in the East and create a Greater East Asia, ruled by their empire.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

I could not fault him for wanting kids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

"We've never had any media wanting to attend here," Anthea O'Loughlin, head of Rowing Queensland, tells the BBC.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The second issue, and perhaps the harder one to address, in their wanting more personal details from you.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

All conductors struggle with the contents of such inaugural bills, wanting them to shine a spotlight without seeming self-aggrandizing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

I don’t mention wanting to follow along and be a part of it.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Related Words

• choose
• crave
• need
• prefer
• require
• wish