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

“The Wizard of Oz” reminded viewers of the necessity for imagination and metaphor at the end of the Great Depression and dawn of a new war.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

Impacted companies also do much of the investigative legwork, out of necessity and self-interest.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

This could be making a virtue out of necessity.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Huges said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine flourished by necessity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

“I was never more surprised than by his behaviour to us. It was more than civil; it was really attentive; and there was no necessity for such attention. His acquaintance with Elizabeth was very trifling.”

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

It is associated with being able to afford life’s necessities and the kind of strong economic rights found in Norway and other Scandinavian countries.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

Even though retirees typically spend less overall as they age, Gomez-Cardona said they also have less flexibility, because a growing share of their spending goes toward necessities they cannot easily cut back on.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Public processions are not uncommon, with members of the public often giving monks alms of goodwill - such as food and basic necessities - as a sign of respect.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

“Because of this, charging inflated prices on necessities is considered price gouging and profiteering against vulnerable incarcerated population who have no ability to refuse or shop elsewhere.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

We all worked harder, cut back so that we bought just the necessities, and made our meals last longer.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

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