need

[ need ]

/ nid /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR need ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation: There is no need for you to go there.

a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary: to fulfill the needs of the assignment.

urgent want, as of something requisite: He has no need of your charity.

necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case: There is no need to worry.

a situation or time of difficulty; exigency: to help a friend in need; to be a friend in need.

a condition marked by the lack of something requisite: the need for leadership.

destitution; extreme poverty: The family's need is acute.

verb (used with object)

to have need of; require: to need money.

verb (used without object)

to be under an obligation (used as an auxiliary, typically in an interrogative or in a negative statement, and followed by infinitive, in certain cases without to; in the 3d person singular the form is need, not needs): He need not go.

to be in need or want.

to be necessary: There needs no apology.

Idioms for 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

SYNONYMS FOR need

3 requirement.

5 emergency.

7 neediness, indigence, penury, privation.

8 want, lack.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR need ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR need

7 wealth.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR need ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for need

2, 3. See lack. 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. 7. See poverty.

OTHER WORDS FROM need

need·er, noun un·need·ed, adjective well-need·ed, adjective

Words nearby need

nedda, neddy, nederland, nedette, nee, need, need like a hole in the head, needed, needfire, needful, needham

Example sentences from the Web for need

Citizens, perhaps, need to feel like they can communicate something to science.

Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers |Michael Schulson |July 27, 2016 |DAILY BEAST
We need to recover and grow the idea that the proper answer to bad speech is more and better speech.

How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech |Nick Gillespie |January 9, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
To do so is to deify a celebrity for being what we need them to be, while willfully ignoring who they really are.

Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers |Stereo Williams |January 8, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
The need for an Ebola vaccine in West Africa has never been greater.

The Race for the Ebola Vaccine |Abby Haglage |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

“For conveniences and shops where you can buy what you need,” it is much easier, he said.

The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech |Liza Foreman |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
The truth is, that we need both the discipline of harness and the abundant nourishment of the free pasture.

The Intellectual Life |=Philip Gilbert Hamerton
"You need not be afraid of that any more, Ronnie," his uncle told him calmly.

The Kingdom of the Blind |E. Phillips Oppenheim
Ah, she need have no fear; I would not trouble her with so much as a word.

Wanderers |Knut Hamsun
I need not repeat the number of his great and glorious actions, which mark him the General and the hero.

Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. I (of 16) |Thomas Hart Benton
He forgot everything but the need of getting out of sight of Mr. Blacksnake as soon as ever he could.

The Adventures of Old Mr. Toad |Thornton W. Burgess

British Dictionary definitions for need

need

/ (niːd) /

verb

(tr) to be in want of to need money

(tr) to require or be required of necessity (to be or do something); be obliged to need to do more work

(takes an infinitive without to) used as an auxiliary in negative and interrogative sentences to express necessity or obligation, and does not add -s when used with he, she, it, and singular nouns need he go?

(intr) archaic to be essential or necessary to there needs no reason for this

noun

the fact or an instance of feeling the lack of something he has need of a new coat

a requirement the need for vengeance

necessity or obligation resulting from some situation no need to be frightened

distress or extremity a friend in need

extreme poverty or destitution; penury

Word Origin for need

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

Idioms and Phrases with need

need

In addition to the idiom beginning with need

needle in a haystack
needless to say
need like a hole in the head

also see:

cry for (crying need for).

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

need

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for need

Origin of need

SYNONYMS FOR need

ANTONYMS FOR need

synonym study for need

OTHER WORDS FROM need

Words nearby need

Example sentences from the Web for need

British Dictionary definitions for need

verb

noun

Word Origin for need

Idioms and Phrases with need

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

need

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Idioms for need

Origin of need

SYNONYMS FOR need

ANTONYMS FOR need

synonym study for need

OTHER WORDS FROM need

Words nearby need

Words related to need

Example sentences from the Web for need

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for need

verb

noun

Word Origin for need

Idioms and Phrases with need

British Dictionary definitions for need