want
Americanverb (used with object)
-
wants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wanted,
past participle, past
-
wanting
present participle
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- need
-
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)
-
wants,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wanted,
past participle, past
-
wanting
present participle
-
to feel inclined; wish; like (often followed byto ).
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 byfor ).
He did not want for abilities.
-
to have need (usually followed byfor ).
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.
- Synonyms:
- desideratum
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- paucity, insufficiency, inadequacy, scarcity, dearth
-
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.
idioms
verb
-
(tr) to feel a need or longing for
I 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
-
to be lacking or deficient (in something necessary or desirable)
the child wants for nothing
-
(tr) to feel the absence of
lying on the ground makes me want my bed
-
(tr) to fall short by (a specified amount)
-
(tr) 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 of
you're wanted upstairs
-
(intr) to be absent
-
informal (tr; takes an infinitive) should or ought (to do something)
you don't want to go out so late
-
informal to wish to be included in a venture
-
informal to wish to be excluded from a venture
noun
-
the act or an instance of wanting
-
anything that is needed, desired, or lacked
to supply someone's wants
-
a lack, shortage, or absence
for want of common sense
-
the state of being in need; destitution
the state should help those in want
-
a sense of lack; craving
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say want? To want is to feel a need or a desire for something. How is want different from desire and wish? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wantsimple
-
wantssimple
-
have wantedperfect
-
has wantedperfect
-
am wantingprogressive
-
are wantingprogressive
-
is wantingprogressive
-
have been wantingperfect progressive
-
has been wantingperfect progressive
Past
-
wantedsimple
-
had wantedperfect
-
was wantingprogressive
-
were wantingprogressive
-
had been wantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of want
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English wante, from Old Norse vanta “to lack”
Explanation
In all its forms, want has to do with the lack of having and the desire to have. You can want or desire something you’d like, or you can be in want of something you need. The word want goes back to the 12th century and the Old Norse language, where vanta meant "to be deficient," or “in want.” If someone keeps bugging you, you might lose patience and ask, "What do you want?" If you are seeking employment, check the "want ads" or look for signs saying "Help Wanted." If you are a "wanted criminal," you might have trouble getting hired.
Vocabulary lists containing want
"A Modest Proposal," Vocabulary from the satire
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 2
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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:
Nadia Evangelou, an economist at the National Association of Realtors, says that what people want from their homes has also changed drastically.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Ask about Coventry City - what do you want to know?
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Stations want to be first to get to the scene of breaking news.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
But, then again, maybe a critic who doesn’t want to shoot his phone would think differently.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
I feel slightly ashamed that I want to see the other Caesar, the one who aimed the gun.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
No one wants to waste the weekend haggling over $20.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
He is doing it again this year and wants me to visit him.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
The 15-year-old has told United he wants to cancel his registration with immediate effect.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
It seems like McKinley wants to deliver a crushing blow, but then feints at the last minute, opting for a more optimistic kind of fantasy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Despite that, I know I’m not going to be able to resist the new recipe that Zara’s mom wants me to taste test: gluten-free baklava.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Hubben told me that he wanted to get into the market before prices went up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
When I was his age, I wanted to get out, too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Hanna and her siblings desperately wanted her back - but they were also worried.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“She wanted a progression,” said the planner, Lewis Miller.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Sancho wanted to laugh but was afraid to; he'd seen his master get angry, and that could mean trouble.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
"I heard from many of my followers... groups of people wanting to go to the festival but not having anyone to go with" or "not knowing what to do," Timby says.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
This is typically not how I play, wanting to experience a production as its designers have intended and thus I let “The Pineapple” take the lead rather than trying to force my will upon it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
But even after an action-packed slate of fall product events, analysts say investors may be left wanting.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
All conductors struggle with the contents of such inaugural bills, wanting them to shine a spotlight without seeming self-aggrandizing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
I tell her that he hates when we talk about her, that he cuts her face out of all our family pictures, and that he thinks me wanting to go to Sunridge is her idea.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
