demand
Americanverb (used with object)
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demands,
present (3rd person singular)
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demanded,
past participle, past
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demanding
present participle
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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)
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demands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
demanded,
past participle, past
-
demanding
present participle
noun
-
demands
plural
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the act of demanding.
-
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:
Her father Patrick said he recognised there was high demand for SEN places.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
The Corporation has consistently said that more office space was needed to meet demand, and set a minimum target of an additional 1.2m sq ft by 2040.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
For Kawhi and his demand to sign Paul George.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
U.S. natural gas futures settled higher as hot weather kept up cooling demand and LNG feedgas flows continued recovering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
I want to talk to Mom, to demand answers.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
"It's when they realise that they have hundreds of tiny demands on them and their brains and bodies just can't switch off."
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
“We continue to fortify our region’s safety net despite growing access demands and challenges,” Hampton said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
The brain needs a break from additional cognitive demands so that memories can begin to stabilize and topics covered can be retained.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
This led Canada to view U.S. demands through a different prism than in the past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The negotiations went back and forth, but Fischer’s current demands were minor compared to the 132 conditions he’d stipulated in 1975 in order for him to play Karpov.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Kevin Reddington, Clancy's lawyer, has repeatedly demanded the replacement of the holdout juror with one of several alternate jurors but Sullivan declined to do so.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Scriptures demanded grappling with human nature, sin and salvation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
What happened next changed the young United States, forcing people to question the line between law — which protected slavery — and justice, which demanded resistance to that law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Barcola ranked ninth across Europe's top five leagues for possessions won in the final third last season, a metric that reflects the aggressive pressing and intensity demanded under Andoni Iraola.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
He demanded to be taken to the top of the mountain.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
But 583 foreigners remain unaccounted for, many of them pilgrims who had spent months preparing for the demanding trek around Mount Kailash.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
There is no doubt that the game has become far more physically demanding over the 54 years since.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Hyperscalers are deploying a lot of natural gas-powered generation because it is the only technology available that can meet the demanding reliability requirements of data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“People are coalescing and they’re demanding that policymakers make change.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
"I don't know how, but they followed me here. I have half of Ishtar's kitties living downstairs. Never met such demanding beasts."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
