demand
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
noun
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the act of demanding.
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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:
GM still sells a lineup of EVs and is developing new ones but has shifted those plans due to weaker demand and regulatory changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Mayhew is calling for an urgent meeting with British Sugar, which he said told him that the firm had been loss-making for the past three years as demand for sugar is on a long-term decline.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
General Motors rose about 4.9% after raising its profit forecast despite a drop in U.S. cars sold, as the automaker cashed in on demand for bigger, pricier trucks and SUVs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Faced with booming demand, Flextronics, another tech manufacturer in Jalisco, even had to repurpose its parking lots to expand manufacturing capacity, Flores said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Inaccurate data from countries with high incidences of MDR have made it difficult for pharmaceutical companies to meet demand for these drugs consistently, and therefore market prices have fluctuated.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
They include protections against forced technology transfers, restrictions on localization requirements, commitments for supporting digital infrastructure, and safeguards against demands for source code and other proprietary technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Lockheed and RTX, which makes the Patriot launcher system, have pledged to meet White House demands to triple or quadruple their output of some high-tech missiles over the coming years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
According to CJP spokesperson Saurav Das, they submitted a letter setting out the group's demands.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
"The situation is undoubtedly serious... we are seeing the list of demands grow," said Oleksandr Salizhenko, an expert within the Chesno movement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
“You’re not in a position to make demands, Nichole. You should be nice to someone who knows your destiny.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
He demanded that Meta demonstrate that hiding phone numbers would not "erode digital traceability" and provide "specific safeguards" against financial fraud.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Lee denied the accusation and demanded the meeting be postponed.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
There should be a "youth mode" for children on social media platforms in which addictive features and targeted advertising are turned off, EU lawmakers demanded on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Tehran had demanded the ceasefire in Lebanon in order to conclude a memorandum of understanding with Washington on June 17.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
She yanked at her gift like a cord and demanded it obey.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
The plan will likely lead to substantial movement toward completion of the project ahead of the 2028 Olympics and speed cleanup, which nearby residents and businesses have been demanding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
In March, the department said it was examining the medical schools at UC San Diego, Stanford and Ohio State, demanding seven years of admissions data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
"We are demanding answers, and we are not getting any," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
BERLIN—Bedran Günes, 23, was manning the cash register at Ari Mini Markt, his grocery store, when two officers walked in, demanding to see his merchandise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The first great strike of 1919 began on January 21, when thirty-five thousand Seattle, Washington, shipyard workers walked off their jobs, demanding higher wages and shorter working hours.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
