need Hear it!

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need definition

need (nēd)

noun

  1. necessity or obligation created by some situation no need to worry
  2. a lack of something useful, required, or desired to have need of a rest
  3. something useful, required, or desired that is lacking; want; requirement list your daily needs
    1. a condition in which there is a deficiency of something, or one requiring relief or supply a friend in need
    2. a condition of poverty, or extreme want

Etymology: ME nede < OE nied, akin to Ger not, Goth nauths < IE *neuti- < base *neu-, to collapse with weariness > Welsh newyn, starvation

transitive verb

to have need of; want or lack; require: need is often used as an auxiliary, either uninflected and followed by an infinitive without to, or inflected and followed by an infinitive with to, meaning “to be obliged, must” he need not come, he needs to be careful

intransitive verb

  1. Archaic to be necessary; chiefly in impersonal constructions it needs not
  2. to be in need

Related Forms:

need Idioms

have need to

to be compelled or required to; must

if need be

if it is required; if the occasion demands

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
need Synonyms

need

n.

  1. Poverty

    indigence, penury, pennilessness; see poverty 1.

  2. Lack

    insufficiency, shortage, inadequacy; see lack 1, 2.

  3. A requirement

    necessity, requirement, requisite, obligation, compulsion, exigency, demand, call, want, essential, necessary, urgency, matter of life and death, desideratum, sine qua non (Latin), must*; see also necessity 1, 2, 3, requirement 2.

need refers to a pressing requirement of something essential or desirable that is lacking; necessity, a more formal word, suggests an imperative need for something indispensable but lacks the emotional connotations of needthey are in need of food, food is a necessity for all living things; exigency refers to a necessity created by some emergency, crisis, or compelling circumstances the exigencies created by the flood; requisite applies to something that is indispensable to a particular end or purpose a sense of rhythm is a requisite in a dancer

have need to

be compelled to, require, want; see must.

if need be

if it is required, if the occasion demands, if necessary; see if.


need

v.

  1. lack, require, feel the necessity for, be in need, suffer privation, be in want, be destitute, be short, be inadequate, have occasion for, feel a dearth, have use for, have need for, miss, be without, do without, be needy, be poor, be bereft, be deprived of, be deficient in, go hungry, not approach, live from hand to mouth, feel the pinch*, be down and out*, be hard up*, be up against it*, do with*; see also want 1.

    Antonyms own*, have*, hold. *

  2. Require

    demand, necessitate, oblige; see must, need to. See syn. study at lack.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

need Usage Examples

Infinitive complement

  • know: I need to know the address of the proxy to set up my program.

Converse of object

  • meet: Both colleges share a coordinated approach in their aim to meet the diverse needs of the local learning communities.

Adjective modifier

  • special: The leadership team will need to take into account the Special Needs of any members of the Unit.

Object

  • help: You can then decide whether something is serious enough to need medical help.

Noun used with modifier

  • housing: But the problem of housing need is even more extensive.
need usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

need quotes

Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy guide. In thy most need to go by thy side.

-Anonymous

My God shall supplyall yourneedaccording tohisriches in glory by Christ Jesus.

-Bible (NewTestament)

But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

-Bible (NewTestament)

need quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"need." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/need>

APA Style

need. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/need

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