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

Mitchell said that while she was heartened by the fact that such lawsuits are being filed less frequently, there is still work to be done, hence the necessity of the motion approved Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

"Because the court concludes that there was manifest necessity for a mistrial based on the jury's deadlock, a retrial on the murder indictments does not violate Clancy's right not to be placed in double jeopardy."

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

The Silicon Valley presence is a necessity given that 90% of the company’s clients are from the region, mostly hyperscale cloud-computing companies and robotics labs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Some rent by choice, while others do so out of necessity.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

In the set of Vincent’s shoulders, in the abrasiveness of his demeanor, Obinze sensed that Vincent had learned very early on, as a matter of necessity, to solve his own problems.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

They had soda fountains, a grill, newspapers, magazines, stationery, toys, playing cards and some necessities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

"I still need to buy vegetables, stock up on food, purchase school supplies, and take care of other necessities," she explains.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

For this couple, like those featured in other such explorations, most of this spending is on items that result from choices, not necessities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Persistent inflation has disproportionately impacted low-income households, which spend more of their income on necessities, said Alexander Smith, associate economics professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Social Science and Policy Studies.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

But a very large proportion are by no means necessities of life.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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Related Words

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

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