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need

[ need ]
/ nid /
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See synonyms for: need / needed / needing / needs on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object)
to have need of; require: to need money.
verb (used without object)
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Idioms about need

    if need be, should the necessity arise: If need be, I can type the letters myself.

Origin of need

before 900; (noun) Middle English nede,Old English nēd (WSaxon nīed), cognate with German Not,Old Norse nauth,Gothic nauths; (v.) Middle English neden,Old English nēodian, derivative of the noun

synonym study for need

4. Need, necessity imply a want, a lack, or a demand, which must be filled. Need, a word of Old English origin, has connotations that make it strong in emotional appeal: the need to be appreciated. Necessity, a word of Latin origin, is more formal and impersonal or objective; though much stronger than need in expressing urgency or imperative demand, it is less effective in appealing to the emotions: Water is a necessity for living things.

OTHER WORDS FROM need

needer, nounun·need·ed, adjectivewell-needed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use need in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for need

need
/ (niːd) /

verb
noun
See also needs

Word Origin for need

Old English nēad, nied; related to Old Frisian nēd, Old Saxon nōd, Old High German nōt
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with need

need

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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