need

need · verb

imported

Definitions

verb

  1. 1.

    To require something because it is essential or very important.

  2. 2.

    To want something very much.

  3. 3.

    (modal verb) To be necessary.

  4. 4.

    A requirement or necessity.

  5. 5.

    A situation requiring some course of action.

  6. 6.

    (plural: needs) Things required for survival or well-being.

Related words

Antonyms: have, possess
See also: necessity, require, want
Synonyms: necessitate, require, want

Etymology

From Old English "nied, ned" meaning "necessity, compulsion, need," from Proto-Germanic "*naudiz" meaning "need, distress, constraint." Related to German "Not" (distress) and Dutch "nood."