need
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To have an absolute requirement for.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
needIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnid
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To have an absolute requirement for.
transitive
To want strongly; to feel that one must have something.
intransitive
To be required; to be necessary.
noun
Lack of means of subsistence; poverty; indigence; destitution.
countable and uncountable
A requirement for something; something needed.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To have an absolute requirement for.
Used this way, need is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use need
- “She satisfied his need for affection.”noun
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
To require of someone.
Require as useful, just, or proper.
To have occasion for (something requisite or useful).
To require (a person, resource or thing in order to achieve an outcome).
To do as a requirement.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
In such a manner as could not be otherwise.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Needy people collectively.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Without need.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.