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Which set of activities does a triathlon require competitors to complete?

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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

And coinsurance rules routinely require people to shell out even after they have hit their several-thousand-dollar deductibles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Product liability suits also require plaintiffs to show they have suffered direct harm as a result of a particular defendant’s products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Portugal's record appearance holder said the agreed notes did not require Jesus to apologise to him but said the coach's public remarks did not reflect their private discussion.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

But reaching that target will require more spending in the immediate future, according to Gawrelski.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

“I do not deal in common currency. For this I shall require one secret withheld from a friend.”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

The forecast for this year requires Wall Street to keep chugging along.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Fight is the easiest part to get right, the thing that requires no talent.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Selling dyed fuel at scale requires dedicated equipment and enough dyed supply at the rack,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Moving it through a pipeline and into a tanker requires treatment that would add $15 a barrel to its cost, he estimates, not counting the specialized equipment needed to refine it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“If this library is to be a true public institution,” said Charles’s mother, “then it requires public oversight. It should be governed by a board of community trustees, not by a one-man band.”

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Under the deal, he is also required to turn in the watches and two BMW vehicles, along with the cash and nearly $39m that was seized from his bank account.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Morgan said in a note to clients the results of the trial were well above expectations, though more detailed data would be required to fully understand the commercial opportunity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The steps required for that process have not yet been detailed, but the company says these members will have until Dec. 21 to access their Marvel Unlimited library to ensure the transfer was successful.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Because regulation of AI in advertising depends on a patchwork of state legislation, many of these ads are not required to disclose the use of AI.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026

The fosters Coal had been with at the time required that he have some kind of after-school activity because it would be good for him.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Last month, Kelly issued a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to restore the outlets’ credentials, rejecting, at least at that stage, the administration’s national security rationale for yanking access.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026

The Scottish government said they should be seen as a "positive thing" which would make it easier for farmers to get uninfected animals to market without requiring an individual licence.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Despite BMW’s profitability falling to 25-year lows, even as global demand outside China remains robust, BMW’s plans assume business as usual, requiring simply better execution on costs, Citi says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Investigators should pursue witnesses, physical and digital evidence, and the accounts and actions of alleged perpetrators rather than repeatedly requiring a survivor to recount a traumatic event unnecessarily.

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2026

Jefferson had reliable evidence that Talleyrand had threatened to leak news of his previous peace initiative, thereby requiring Adams to reciprocate.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

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