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

Etymology

Origin of necessity

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

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

United by necessity, the men hold opposing views on humankind, and their ongoing quarrel gives the movie a ruminative foundation that sets it apart from the usual action-first studio feature.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

"It's necessity because of the rules," one former Villa executive told BBC Sport, when asked about the sales.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Yuriy, a senior instructor who led one of the squads across the gruelling obstacle course, has at times pondered the necessity of such trials given the nature of drone warfare.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

But when that is the case, renting isn’t always an unfortunate necessity.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Holmes explained the move to Minnie as a long-overdue necessity.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Blamed partly on one of the worst episodes of the drought-inducing El Nino weather phenomenon in decades, the disaster threatens millions of people's access to necessities such as clean water and air -- even education.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

"The crisis of money nowadays, the inflation has gone up so dramatically, and parents are struggling to do the basic necessities, let alone get children three pairs of logoed clothing for school," she explained.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Pearl diving often relied on the barest necessities: a noseclip, leather finger covers and a basket to gather oysters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some have been known to lack basic necessities like air conditioning or running water.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Minor necessities were brought in from wagons or saddlebags.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

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