necessity

American  

[nuh-ses-i-tee] / nəˈsɛs ɪ ti /

noun

• necessities
  plural

1. something necessary or indispensable.

   food, shelter, and other necessities of life.

2. the fact of being necessary or indispensable; indispensability.

   the necessity of adequate housing.

3. an imperative requirement or need for something.

   the necessity for a quick decision.

   Synonyms:

   demand

4. the state or fact of being necessary or inevitable.

   to face the necessity of testifying in court.

5. an unavoidable need or compulsion to do something.

   not by choice but by necessity.

6. a state of being in financial need; poverty.

   a family in dire necessity.

   Synonyms:

   want, indigence, neediness

7. Philosophy. the quality of following inevitably from logical, physical, or moral laws.

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idioms

1. of necessity, as an inevitable result; unavoidably; necessarily.

   Our trip to China must of necessity be postponed for a while.

necessity British  

/ nɪˈsɛsɪtɪ /

noun

1. (sometimes plural) something needed for a desired result; prerequisite

   necessities of life

2. a condition or set of circumstances, such as physical laws or social rules, that inevitably requires a certain result

   it is a matter of necessity to wear formal clothes when meeting the Queen

3. the state or quality of being obligatory or unavoidable

4. urgent requirement, as in an emergency or misfortune

   in time of necessity we must all work together

5. poverty or want

6. rare compulsion through laws of nature; fate

7. philosophy

   1. a condition, principle, or conclusion that cannot be otherwise

   2. the constraining force of physical determinants on all aspects of life Compare freedom

8. logic

   1. the property of being necessary

   2. a statement asserting that some property is essential or statement is necessarily true

   3. the operator that indicates that the expression it modifies is true in all possible worlds

9. inevitably; necessarily

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necessity More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing necessity

• make a virtue of necessity
• of necessity

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Synonym Usage

See need.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonnecessity
  noun
• supernecessity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• necessities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of necessity

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English necessite, from Latin necessitās, from necess(e) “needful” + -itās -ity

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Explanation

A good camping knife is a necessity if you’re going to be hiking in a heavily forested region. A necessity is something that you must have in order to complete a task. When used in the plural, necessities are items required for a situation but nothing extra. You probably only bring the bare necessities to a sleepover — pajamas and a toothbrush. Sometimes a necessity is a thing you must know how to do. Knowing how to balance your checkbook is a financial necessity. In some cases, necessity simply means "need." Do you do your homework out of necessity or because you want to?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

necessity necessities

Syrskyi, however, insisted that the Kursk operation was "a necessity".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Children are almost always treated with special deference in American law, because lawmakers understand and respect the significance of adolescence and the necessity of parental guidance.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

While having a power of attorney designated for a person who is suffering cognitive decline is an absolute necessity, having them declared incompetent by a court is not.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Getting AI pricing right is an existential necessity for any AI company.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

And now we are here, with all these colorful treasures safely transported and stowed against necessity.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

“Even in spite of these efforts, many lower-income households now have rising credit-card and consumer-debt balances. It’s hard to find substitutes for necessities like housing,” Smith said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

They’re promising to lower prices for housing, fuel, groceries and other necessities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Some shelters, like the Santé D’Or Foundation, provide necessities for you, but every rescue has its own approach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Official figures show that in the 12 months to February 2026, the price of basic necessities increased by an average 60%, while food prices doubled in the same period.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Soap, fuel, and other necessities were strictly rationed.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

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Related Words

• essential
• fundamental
• obligation
• precondition
• prerequisite
• requirement
• urgency

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