(nēd)
noun- A condition or situation in which something is required or wanted: crops in need of water; a need for affection.
- Something required or wanted; a requisite: “Those of us who led the charge for these women's issues … shared a common vision in the needs of women” (Olympia Snowe).
- Necessity; obligation: There is no need for you to go.
- A condition of poverty or misfortune: The family is in dire need.
verb need·ed,
need·ing,
needs needs verbaux. To be under the necessity of or the obligation to: They need not come.
verb, transitive To have need of; require:
The family needs money. See Synonyms at
lack.
- To be in need or want.
- To be necessary.
Usage Note: Depending on the sense, the verb
need behaves sometimes like an auxiliary verb (such as
can or
may) and sometimes like a main verb (such as
want or
try). When used as a main verb,
need agrees with its subject, takes
to before the verb following it, and combines with
do in questions, negations, and certain other constructions:
He needs to go. Does he need to go so soon? He doesn't need to go. When used as an auxiliary verb,
need does not agree with its subject, does not take
to before the verb following it, and does not combine with
do: He needn't go. Need he go so soon? The auxiliary forms of
need are used primarily in present-tense questions, negations, and conditional clauses. Unlike
can and
may, auxiliary
need has no form for the past tense like
could and
might.Regional Note: When
need is used as the main verb, it can be followed by a present participle, as in
The car needs washing, or by
to be plus a past participle, as in
The car needs to be washed. However, in some areas of the United States, especially western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, many speakers omit
to be and use just the past participle form, as in
The car needs washed. This use of
need with past participles is slightly more common in the British Isles, being particularly prevalent in Scotland.
