Link Centre Dictionary

need

UK/niːd/ US/nɪi̯d/ very common
verb (3) noun (4)

verb

1.

require as useful, just, or proper

  • “It takes nerve to do what she did”
  • “success usually requires hard work”
  • “This job asks a lot of patience and skill”
  • “This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice”
  • “This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert”
  • “This intervention does not postulate a patient”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

have need of

  • “This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner”
Synonyms
3.

have or feel a need for

  • “always needing friends and money”

noun

1.

a condition requiring relief

  • “she satisfied his need for affection”
  • “God has no need of men to accomplish His work”
  • “there is a demand for jobs”
Synonyms
2.

anything that is necessary but lacking

  • “he had sufficient means to meet his simple needs”
  • “I tried to supply his wants”
Synonyms
3.

the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior

  • “we did not understand his motivation”
  • “he acted with the best of motives”
Synonyms
4.

a state of extreme poverty or destitution

  • “their indigence appalled him”
  • “a general state of need exists among the homeless”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English need, nede, a merger of two terms: * Old English nīed (West Saxon), nēd (Mercian), nēad (“necessity, compulsion, want”), from Proto-West Germanic *naudi, from Proto-Germanic *naudiz, from Proto-Indo-European *neh₂w- (“death”). * Old English nēod (“desire, longing”), from Proto-West Germanic *niudi (“desire, eagerness”), from Proto-Indo-European *new- (“to incline, tend, move, push, nod, wave”).

Phrases

  • a friend in need is a friend indeed
  • a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle
  • baby needs new shoes
  • basic needs
  • citation needed
  • do you need an invitation
  • do you need help
  • do you need to use the bathroom
  • every king needs a queen
  • good wine needs no bush
  • hour of need
  • if need be

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.