need
Americannoun
-
needs
plural
-
a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation.
There is no need for you to go there.
-
a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary.
to fulfill the needs of the assignment.
-
urgent want, as of something requisite.
He has no need of your charity.
- Synonyms:
- requirement
-
necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case.
There is no need to worry.
-
a situation or time of difficulty; exigency.
to help a friend in need;
to be a friend in need.
- Synonyms:
- emergency
-
a condition marked by the lack of something requisite.
the need for leadership.
-
destitution; extreme poverty.
The family's need is acute.
- Antonyms:
- wealth
verb (used with object)
-
needs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
needed,
past participle, past
-
needing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
needs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
needed,
past participle, past
-
needing
present participle
-
to be under an obligation (used as an auxiliary, typically in an interrogative or in a negative statement, and followed by infinitive, in certain cases without to; in the 3d person singular the form is need, notneeds ).
He need not go.
-
to be in need or want.
-
to be necessary.
There needs no apology.
idioms
verb
-
(tr) to be in want of
to need money
-
(tr) to require or be required of necessity (to be or do something); be obliged
to need to do more work
-
(takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary in negative and interrogative sentences to express necessity or obligation, and does not add -s when used with he, she, it, and singular nouns
need he go?
-
archaic (intr) to be essential or necessary to
there needs no reason for this
noun
-
the fact or an instance of feeling the lack of something
he has need of a new coat
-
a requirement
the need for vengeance
-
necessity or obligation resulting from some situation
no need to be frightened
-
distress or extremity
a friend in need
-
extreme poverty or destitution; penury
Usage
What are other ways to say need? To need something is to have need of it. How does need compare to synonyms want, lack, and require? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
Need, necessity imply a want, a lack, or a demand, which must be filled. Need, a word of Old English origin, has connotations that make it strong in emotional appeal: the need to be appreciated. Necessity, a word of Latin origin, is more formal and impersonal or objective; though much stronger than need in expressing urgency or imperative demand, it is less effective in appealing to the emotions: Water is a necessity for living things.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
needsimple
-
needssimple
-
have neededperfect
-
has neededperfect
-
am needingprogressive
-
are needingprogressive
-
is needingprogressive
-
have been needingperfect progressive
-
has been needingperfect progressive
Past
-
neededsimple
-
had neededperfect
-
was needingprogressive
-
were needingprogressive
-
had been needingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of need
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun nede, Old English nēd ( West Saxon nīed ), cognate with German Not, Old Norse nauth, Gothic nauths
Explanation
A need is something essential: people need food, water, and shelter. When you lack them, you're in need. Besides physical needs like sleep, people have lots of psychological needs: like for love and friendship. To pass an exam, you need to study. To lose weight, you need to exercise more and eat less. Drug addicts feel a physical need for their drug — so do smokers. Often, we feel we need things that we actually just want: like a new video game or car. When someone is trying hard to get something, they might say "I need it!"
Vocabulary lists containing need
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Lyrics from "Umbrella" by Rihanna
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"Inventing to Solve a Problem"
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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:
I need to acknowledge up front that it is unwise for anybody—including me—to deduce any comprehensive conclusions about the Democratic Party and where it’s headed from Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary last week.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
“Sometimes you need to do things that might be unpopular if it’s going to be something that benefits the greater good. A healthy economy is the tide that raises all ships.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"Guaranteeing our naval and joint forces have the lethal firepower they need to deter aggression and protect the homeland is paramount," Cao said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
“You do not need to acquire all three; you can acquire any number of them, so long as each replacement property you acquire is among the identified properties.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
“In here,” he says, “is all you need for a claim. A compass. Stakes, ribbons to mark the allowed one hundred and sixty acres.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
“We should be truthful to the places where we settle, and the architecture needs to respect that,” Pessoa said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Billy still needs round the clock care and Charlotte says that's unlikely to change.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Before its services can run, Virgin still needs to procure a rolling stock of trains for the route, gain access to other rail networks and obtain safety approvals from British and European Union authorities.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
More pragmatic members of the leadership including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have repeatedly warned Iran needs to negotiate a deal to end the war that brings sanctions relief or face the collapse of its economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
But Dad said, “After you boys see to the stock, take the morning off and walk down to the schoolhouse with your sister. Find out what needs to be done down there.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Because Alzheimer's is an age-related disease, the team needed to conduct experiments using older animals.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Tennyson argued the review needed to be carried out quickly and if Muir was to appoint a larger panel of experts that would delay the outcome of the process.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
While other new hires needed an average of five months to get up to speed, frequent job switchers needed two months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
One example is the mitochondrion, which helps provide the energy needed to support more demanding forms of life.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
I missed more than the cat; the Beje needed people to fill its rooms.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
After bowling the hosts out for 284 and needing 57 to win, Mominul Haque cut Beau Webster to the boundary for the winning runs to seal the nation's first Test victory in Australia.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
That is a real weakness in life, needing drama.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
There’s a big difference between wanting a larger emergency fund and needing one.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Chesney has continuously stressed the importance of engaging different groups, emphasizing the size of UCLA’s alumni base and needing the school’s football team to be present among different communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The doors at the back of the auditorium opened, and the roving yearbook photographer roamed in, needing a picture of the drama club.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
