require

American  

[ri-kwahyuhr] / rɪˈkwaɪər /

verb (used with object)

• requires,
  present (3rd person singular)
• required,
  past participle,  past
• requiring
  present participle

1. to have need of; need.

   He requires medical care.

2. to call on authoritatively; order or enjoin to do something.

   to require an agent to account for money spent.

3. to ask for authoritatively or imperatively; demand.

   Antonyms:

   forgo

4. to impose need or occasion for; make necessary or indispensable.

   The work required infinite patience.

5. to call for or exact as obligatory; ordain.

   The law requires annual income-tax returns.

6. to place under an obligation or necessity.

   The situation requires me to take immediate action.

   Synonyms:

   necessitate, obligate

7. Chiefly British. to desire; wish to have.

   Will you require tea at four o'clock?

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verb (used without object)

• requires,
  present (3rd person singular)
• required,
  past participle,  past
• requiring
  present participle

1. to demand; impose obligation.

   to do as the law requires.

require British  

/ rɪˈkwaɪə /

verb

1. to have need of; depend upon; want

2. to impose as a necessity; make necessary

   this work requires precision

3. (also intr) to make formal request (for); insist upon or demand, esp as an obligation

4. to call upon or oblige (a person) authoritatively; order or command

   to require someone to account for his actions

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Usage

What are other ways to say require? To require something is to have a need for it or to ask for it authoritatively. How does require compare to synonyms want, need, and lack? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Synonym Usage

See demand.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• requirer
  noun
• prerequire
  verb (used with object)
• nonrequirable
  adjective
• quasi-required
  adjective
• requirable
  adjective
• unrequired
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• requiring
  present
• required
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• require
  simple
• requires
  simple
• have required
  perfect
• has required
  perfect
• am requiring
  progressive
• are requiring
  progressive
• is requiring
  progressive
• have been requiring
  perfect progressive
• has been requiring
  perfect progressive

Past

• required
  simple
• had required
  perfect
• was requiring
  progressive
• were requiring
  progressive
• had been requiring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will require
  simple
• will have required
  perfect
• will be requiring
  progressive
• will have been requiring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of require

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English requiren, from Latin requīrere, equivalent to re- re- ( def. ) + -quīrere, combining form of quaerere “to seek, search for”; cf. quest ( def. )

Explanation

Require means to need. You require food, water, and shelter to live, but do you really require that new pair of high-fashion shoes? The verb require comes from Latin root words re-, meaning "repeatedly," and quaerere, meaning "to ask." The word lost the sense of asking and came to mean needing, demanding, or insisting upon something. The law requires that you attend school until you're sixteen; your parents probably require you to finish high school. If you're a waiter in a fancy restaurant and the food has been served, you might ask if your customers require anything else.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

require requires required requiring

They added, “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive.”

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

Do you require a man who is romantic, who takes you places, who claims you at a higher level?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

“It is not only a matter of rhetoric; Jewish institutions still require extensive security, and many Jews report adapting their daily lives because they fear harassment or violence. Some even consider leaving the country.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

At a time when Americans’ grasp of personal-finance concepts is on the decline and many students don’t receive training in financial literacy in school, providing support “doesn’t require writing a check,” he added.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Before they left the library, Nathan charged his phone and used the internet to update all his games as well as download new ones that didn’t require reception.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

“Every Republican I’m aware of realizes this year requires a full commitment, in terms of time, effort, resources,” Mackowack said.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

AI simply requires a lot more of them.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Proposition 44 requires that community clinics spend 90% of revenue on patient services, which Regan has said ensures that money is aligned with the mission of the health centers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Although the method is effective, finding genuine new craters requires extensive manual review.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

Confidence in experimental knowledge thus requires the natural/artificial distinction to be undermined and replaced by the conviction that by performing procedures that correspond to natural processes I can have true knowledge of those processes.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

“It was something that required a level of coercion,” Reinhart said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Paul McCartney, Justin Bieber and Jack White have also required attendees to use the pouches at some shows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Ali, who was not required to appear at the hearing, is being held in a secure psychiatric hospital.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

In 2025, 44% of homes for sale in the U.S. required owners to pay HOA fees, up from 34% in 2019, Realtor.com found.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Maggie’s Catholic faith required her to stay away from spirit contact.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Abbott has tried to ameliorate these concerns by requiring all new data centers to be audited by the state, a step that policy experts and Democrats have criticized as insufficient.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

Riders of legal electrically assisted pedal bikes must be at least 14, and any illegal modification means the bikes qualify as a motor vehicle/moped, requiring registration, a driving licence, tax and insurance.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

He helped save a cat that got stuck inside the wall of a garage, requiring firefighters to cut holes in the wall to reach in and grab it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

The law also expressly protects the parental rights of the intended parents by requiring the surrogate to surrender the child to them immediately upon birth.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Although the tool was weightless in space, it was still difficult to operate, requiring the cosmonauts to expend a lot of energy with each movement.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Related Words

• call for
• cause
• compel
• demand
• expect
• instruct
• involve
• obligate
• oblige
• order
• request
• take