want
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want (wänt, wônt)
transitive verb
- to have too little of; be deficient in; lack
- to be short by (a specified amount) it wants twelve minutes of midnight
- to feel the need of; long for; crave to want adventure
- to desire; wish or long: followed by the infinitive to want to travel
- to wish to see or speak with (someone) wanted on the phone
- to wish to apprehend, as for questioning or arrest wanted by the police
- Chiefly Brit. to require; need this wants attending to
Etymology: ME wanten < ON vanta, to be lacking, want: see wantthe
intransitive verb
- to have a need or lack: usually with for to want for money
- to lack the necessities of life; be destitute or impoverished “Waste not, want not”
- Rare to be lacking or missing for completeness or a certain result there wants but his approval
noun
- the state or fact of lacking, or having too little of, something needed or desired; scarcity; shortage; lack to suffer from want of adequate care
- a lack of the necessities of life; poverty; destitution to live in want
- a wish or desire for something; craving
- something needed or desired but lacking; need
Etymology: ME < ON vant, neut. of vanr, deficient < IE base *(e)wā-, to lack > L vanus, empty
Related Forms:
- wanter want′er noun
want in (or out or off, etc.)
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
want
n.
want
v.
To desire
desire, require, aspire, hanker after, have an urge for, incline toward, fancy, covet, crave, long for, lust for, have a fondness for, have a passion for, have ambition, thirst after, hunger after, be greedy for, ache*, have a yen for*, have an itch for*. To lack
be deficient in, be deprived of, require; see need. See syn. study at desire, 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.
Object
- something: We want something that will result in a step forward.
Noun phrase with adjective complement
- compliant: Not for those who want nice, standards compliant, XHTML and CSS... Voidspace Story.
Adjective complement
- more: Epic has expanded its services division to increase the scope of its offering to clients who want more than pure online learning.
Modifying Another Word
- really: Do I really want to spend time maintaining a debate on top of my blog?
Used with why or when
- when: The flexibility means that I can do the things that I want when I want.
Infinitive complement
- know: I want to know what I'm going to be doing, what I'm going to be involved in.
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.
Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want.
The most urgent tasks in Britain, once war is over, are, on the one hand, the making of a common attack on the giant evils of Want, Disease,Ignorance and Squalor, and on the other hand, the re-equipping of British industry.
O taste and see that the L isgood: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.O fear the L, ye his saints: for there isno wanttothemthat fear him.The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the L shall not want any good thing.
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
"want." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/want>
APA Style
want. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/want

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