want

[ wont, wawnt ]

/ wɒnt, wɔnt /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR want ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to feel a need or a desire for; wish for: to want one's dinner; always wanting something new.

to wish, need, crave, demand, or desire (often followed by an infinitive): I want to see you. She wants to be notified.

to be without or be deficient in: to want judgment; to want knowledge.

to fall short by (a specified amount): The sum collected wants but a few dollars of the desired amount.

to require or need: The house wants painting.

verb (used without object)

to feel inclined; wish; like (often followed by to): We can stay home if you want.

to be deficient by the absence of some part or thing, or to feel or have a need (sometimes followed by for): He did not want for abilities.

to have need (usually followed by for): If you want for anything, let him know.

to be in a state of destitution, need, or poverty: She would never allow her parents to want.

to be lacking or absent, as a part or thing necessary to completeness: All that wants is his signature.

noun

something wanted or needed; necessity: My wants are few.

something desired, demanded, or required: a person of childish, capricious wants.

absence or deficiency of something desirable or requisite; lack: plants dying for want of rain.

the state of being without something desired or needed; need: to be in want of an assistant.

the state of being without the necessaries of life; destitution; poverty: a country where want is virtually unknown.

a sense of lack or need of something: to feel a vague want.

Nearby words

wanna, wannabe, wannabee, wanne-eickel, wannish, want, want ad, want for nothing, want in, want knap, want list

Idioms

want in/out, Chiefly Midland.

to desire to enter or leave: The cat wants in.
Informal. to desire acceptance in or release from something specified: I talked with Louie about our plan, and he wants in.

Origin of want

1150–1200; Middle English wante < Old Norse vanta to lack

SYNONYMS FOR want

1 require, crave.

3 need.

11 desideratum.

13 dearth, scarcity, scarceness, inadequacy, insufficiency, paucity, meagerness.

15 privation, penury, indigence.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR want ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

want·er, nounwant·less, adjectivewant·less·ness, nounself-want, noun

un·want·ed, adjective

Can be confusedunwanted unwontedwant wont

Synonym study

1. See wish. 3. See lack. 15. See poverty.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for want

So it might be me projecting my desires onto Archer to want to just get away from work for a few weeks.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Models in Israel will have to maintain a BMI of 18.5 or higher if they want to stay employed.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Why would “they” want to crush him just for attempting to buy something twenty years ago?
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the most important point I want to make is about what the press does now.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

What an amazing thing to be able to listen to any music you want, a whole world of bands.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“I will fasten up your dress in the neck if that is what you want,” said she.
The Shoulders of Atlas|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
"Dunno ez I want ye now," she returned, with a toss of her head.
Frank Merriwell Down South|Burt L. Standish
The latter are very much shocked at the want of propriety in the management of the English.
Pencillings by the Way|N. Parker Willis
But I have wrestled with misfortune in vain; I have struggled with want, till want has overcome me.
Bentley's Miscellany, Volume II|Various
If you want some butter it doesn't matter whether you buy it from Brown or Jones or Robinson.'
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists|Robert Tressell

British Dictionary definitions for want (1 of 2)

want

/ (wɒnt) /

verb

(tr) to feel a need or longing forI want a new hat

(when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to wish, need, or desire (something or to do something)he wants to go home

(intr usually used with a negative and often foll by for) to be lacking or deficient (in something necessary or desirable)the child wants for nothing

(tr) to feel the absence oflying on the ground makes me want my bed

(tr) to fall short by (a specified amount)

(tr) mainly British to have need of or require (doing or being something)your shoes want cleaning

(intr) to be destitute

(tr; often passive) to seek or request the presence ofyou're wanted upstairs

(intr) to be absent

(tr; takes an infinitive) informal should or ought (to do something)you don't want to go out so late

want in informal to wish to be included in a venture

want out informal to wish to be excluded from a venture

noun

the act or an instance of wanting

anything that is needed, desired, or lackedto supply someone's wants

a lack, shortage, or absencefor want of common sense

the state of being in need; destitutionthe state should help those in want

a sense of lack; craving

Derived Formswanter, noun

Word Origin for want

C12 (vb, in the sense: it is lacking), C13 (n): from Old Norse vanta to be deficient; related to Old English wanian to wane

British Dictionary definitions for want (2 of 2)

want

/ (wɒnt) /

noun

English dialect a mole

Word Origin for want

Old English wand

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for want (1 of 2)

want

c.1200, "to be lacking," from Old Norse vanta "to lack, want," earlier *wanaton, from Proto-Germanic *wanen, from PIE *we-no-, from root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (see vain). The meaning "desire, wish for" is first recorded 1706. Related: wanted; wanting.

Word Origin and History for want (1 of 2)

want

c.1300, "deficiency, shortage," from Old Norse vant, neuter of vanr "wanting, deficient;" related to Old English wanian "to diminish" (see wane). Phrase for want of is recorded from c.1400. Meaning "state of destitution" is recorded from mid-14c. Newspaper want ad is recorded from 1897. Middle English had wantsum (c.1200) "in want, deprived of," literally "want-some."

Idioms and Phrases with want

want

In addition to the idioms beginning with want

want for nothing
want in

also see:

waste not, want not

want

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of want

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for want

British Dictionary definitions for want (1 of 2)

want

verb

noun

Word Origin for want

British Dictionary definitions for want (2 of 2)

want

noun

Word Origin for want

Word Origin and History for want (1 of 2)

want

Word Origin and History for want (1 of 2)

want

Idioms and Phrases with want

want