require

American  

[ri-kwahyuhr] / rɪˈkwaɪər /

verb (used with object)

requires, present (3rd person singular) required, past participle, past requiring present participle

1. to have need of; need.

   He requires medical care.

2. to call on authoritatively; order or enjoin to do something.

   to require an agent to account for money spent.

3. to ask for authoritatively or imperatively; demand.

   Antonyms:

   forgo

4. to impose need or occasion for; make necessary or indispensable.

   The work required infinite patience.

5. to call for or exact as obligatory; ordain.

   The law requires annual income-tax returns.

6. to place under an obligation or necessity.

   The situation requires me to take immediate action.

   Synonyms:

   necessitate, obligate

7. Chiefly British. to desire; wish to have.

   Will you require tea at four o'clock?

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verb (used without object)

requires, present (3rd person singular) required, past participle, past requiring present participle

1. to demand; impose obligation.

   to do as the law requires.

require British  

/ rɪˈkwaɪə /

verb

1. to have need of; depend upon; want

2. to impose as a necessity; make necessary

   this work requires precision

3. (also intr) to make formal request (for); insist upon or demand, esp as an obligation

4. to call upon or oblige (a person) authoritatively; order or command

   to require someone to account for his actions

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Usage

What are other ways to say require? To require something is to have a need for it or to ask for it authoritatively. How does require compare to synonyms want, need, and lack? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Synonym Usage

See demand.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• requirer
  noun
• prerequire
  verb (used with object)
• nonrequirable
  adjective
• quasi-required
  adjective
• requirable
  adjective
• unrequired
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• requiring
  present
• required
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• require
  simple
• requires
  simple
• have required
  perfect
• has required
  perfect
• am requiring
  progressive
• are requiring
  progressive
• is requiring
  progressive
• have been requiring
  perfect progressive
• has been requiring
  perfect progressive

Past

• required
  simple
• had required
  perfect
• was requiring
  progressive
• were requiring
  progressive
• had been requiring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will require
  simple
• will have required
  perfect
• will be requiring
  progressive
• will have been requiring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of require

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English requiren, from Latin requīrere, equivalent to re- re- ( def. ) + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere “to seek, search for”; cf. quest ( def. )

Explanation

Require means to need. You require food, water, and shelter to live, but do you really require that new pair of high-fashion shoes? The verb require comes from Latin root words re-, meaning "repeatedly," and quaerere, meaning "to ask." The word lost the sense of asking and came to mean needing, demanding, or insisting upon something. The law requires that you attend school until you're sixteen; your parents probably require you to finish high school. If you're a waiter in a fancy restaurant and the food has been served, you might ask if your customers require anything else.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

require requires required requiring

The journey will require an impenetrable will and a fearlessness to sacrifice everything for the sake of democracy for all.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

“We require so much of those guys, from what we do with formations with motions, with adjustments that they’re going to make before the ball is even snapped,” Scheelhaase said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, recently joined other tech CEOs in calling for Congress to require safeguards for companies ordering synthetic DNA and RNA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Other riders had the same treatment, including Pogacar at 5am, but the ITA said there was "exceptional circumstances" to take the night tests, which are rare and require additional permission.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

“The Stevie books, of course! When Stevie, Kevin, and Chloe try to get into Einan’s lair, they face booby traps that require logic. Evil-guy logic at that.”

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Billionaire U.S. investor Kenneth Dart has raised his stake in Swedish gaming group Evolution AB to around 30.02%, passing the threshold that requires the launch of a mandatory takeover offer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

The department responded to questions about the state’s record on regulation with a statement that emphasized it requires schools to conduct background screening for owners and employees who have direct contact with students.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

Battery manufacturing requires extensive industrial supply chains that remain concentrated in Asia, with South Africa dominating the emerging sector on the continent.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

McCraney, Geffen Playhouse’s artistic director, said forging a path forward in nonprofit theater without succumbing to commercial pressure to produce only guaranteed hits requires the delicate balance of surfing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Sexual reproduction demands the collapse of an organism into a single cell, but then requires that single cell to expand back into an organism.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

You have many sources of income during those pre-Social Security years, prior to when your required minimum distributions kick in when you hit your 70s.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

One provision would’ve required private schools accepting public money to give a common standardized test and report results to the county superintendent, allowing more insight into the schools’ educational quality.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

Readers can dig into a character's psychology, historical context, or a philosophical concept -- no separate research required.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

The council said it was carrying out regular visual monitoring of the lake and arranging toxin testing, adding that warning signs will remain in place until the required safety criteria under the protocol is met.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

And in order to visit C.C. at the Shipwreck, one only had to stroll across the solid surface of the Mainly Frozen Ocean; swimming was no longer required.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

But the appeals court found the states had shown they were already facing immediate consequences from the directive, including deadlines requiring them to alter election procedures and coordinate with federal agencies before the November elections.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

The SEC began requiring quarterly financial reporting in 1970, and investors have long taken it for granted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Building that sort of network is far easier said than done, requiring a lot of time and a lot of spectrum.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

The WBG said the five-year CPF "marks a new phase in a 45-year partnership," as China moves from needing financing to primarily requiring technical assistance and knowledge sharing.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

In 1474 the republic of Venice formalized its own patent system by requiring that those wanting to claim a monopoly first register their new inventions with the state.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• call for
• cause
• compel
• demand
• expect
• instruct
• involve
• obligate
• oblige
• order
• request
• take