requirement
Americannoun
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something demanded or imposed as an obligation
Latin is no longer a requirement for entry to university
-
a thing desired or needed
-
the act or an instance of requiring
Usage
What does requirement mean? A requirement is something that’s mandatory or necessary—it’s something you need to have or need to do. Requirement is most often used in official contexts in which achieving a certain status requires you to perform certain actions or have certain things, such as documents. Example: By passing this class you have now met all of the basic requirements for your major and will be able to walk at graduation in May.
Synonym Usage
Requirement, requisite refer to that which is necessary. A requirement is some quality or performance demanded of a person in accordance with certain fixed regulations: requirements for admission to college. A requisite is not imposed from outside; it is a factor which is judged necessary according to the nature of things, or to the circumstances of the case: Efficiency is a requisite for success in business. Requisite may also refer to a concrete object judged necessary: the requisites for perfect grooming.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of requirement
Explanation
Necessary, inescapable, and non-negotiable, a requirement is something that must be done, like the dishes. Speaking politely to your grandparents may be a requirement of living in your parents' house. Requirements can be imposed by an authority. For example, in college, it is usually a requirement that you study math, English, and history, before you go on to get your degree in underwater basket weaving. We can also speak of the requirements of a living system: your body requires water to stay alive; light is a requirement of photosynthesis.
Vocabulary lists containing requirement
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 81-90
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Supreme Court healthcare ruling
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"Building Design and Construction Handbook," Vocabulary from Section 1
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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:
Leaver said France's ban may have a higher chance of succeeding because of the requirement for every person to verify their age but that this will also increase risks to privacy.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
A core feature of Australian superannuation is a legal requirement that employers contribute 12% of an eligible employee’s annual earnings to privately managed super funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
While this makes Kimi K3 efficient to run, the requirement to hold 2.8 trillion parameters in active memory means the model would be difficult for enterprises to run on their own servers, Sen told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
To solve this problem, Bauer-Kahan put an entertainment industry exception in the bill, exempting “printers manufactured for and sold exclusively to entertainment industry stagecraft and propmaking studios” from the software requirement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Was he just satisfying his community-service requirement as outlined in the plea in abeyance?
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Step Up said it follows statutory requirements in administering funds and reports “any complaints or reports of fraud” to the state education department.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
HP said the payment helps ensure its CEO is available to run the company during a power outage at his residence, and it disclosed the perk in accordance with regulatory requirements.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Cutler said this has a lower likelihood of being overridden by courts, noting Trump's top trade official Jamieson Greer had carefully navigated procedural requirements before imposing duties.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Clearly surplus to requirements at Chelsea, Garnacho does not want to return to somewhere he is not needed.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The investigation revealed that the task force seized large amounts of money, but also small amounts, and then dispensed it freely, unconstrained by reporting requirements or the task force’s mission.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
