Need — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈnēd/

Meaning & Definition of Need

Need (noun)

  1. necessary duty, obligation
  2. a lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful
  3. a physiological or psychological requirement for the well-being of an organism

Need (verb)

  1. to be needful or necessary
  2. to be in want
  3. to be in need of, require

Need (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to have as a requirement

    "a national crisis that needs a strong leader to solve it"

    similar: bear, challenge, claim, demand, necessitate, require, take, want, warrant, call for
    related: entail, involve, ask, beg, clamor (for), cry (for), hurt (for), lack, command, enjoin, exact, insist, press, quest, stipulate
    opposite: have, hold
    near: own, possess

  2. to be under necessity or obligation to

    "you need not stand when she enters the room"

    similar: have (to), must, ought (to), shall, should
    related: will

Need (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a state of being without something necessary, desirable, or useful

    "when it came time to wrap the presents, he found he was in need of adhesive tape"

    similar: absence, lack, needfulness, want
    related: deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, dearth, meagerness, paucity, poverty, scantiness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, skimpiness, defect, minus, deprivation, famishment, privation, demand, essential, necessity, requirement, requisite
    near: adequacy, enough, sufficiency, fund, pool, stock, supply, excess, fill, overabundance, oversupply, plenty, surfeit, surplus, hoard, stockpile

  2. something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable

    "got a job that barely provided for his basic needs"

    similar: condition, demand, essential, must, must-have, necessary, necessity, needful, requirement, requisite, sine qua non
    related: precondition, prerequisite, advantage, edge, plus, desideration, desideratum, wish
    opposite: nonessential, nonnecessity
    near: amenity, comfort, extra, extravagance, frill, indulgence, luxury, superfluity, surplus, surplusage

  3. something one must do because of prior agreement

    "no need to apologize"

    similar: burden, charge, commitment, devoir, do (archaic), duty, imperative, incumbency, obligation, office, responsibility
    related: oath, pledge, promise, troth, vow, word, arrangement, prearrangement, setup, compact, contract, covenant, pact, trust, debt, payment, tribute, compulsion, constraint, restraint, must, requirement, coercion, duress, force, appointment, engagement, reservation, onus
    near: grace, postponement, stay, discharge, ease, exemption, release, relief, waiver, loophole, alternative, choice, option, pick, preference, selection

  4. the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions

    "donating money to help those in need"

    similar: beggary, destituteness, destitution, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, indigence, necessity, neediness, pauperism, penuriousness, penury, poorness, poverty, want
    related: gutter, misery, woe, wretchedness, exigency, emergency, rainy day, austerity, deprivation, privation, bankruptcy, insolvency, belt-tightening, pinching, straitening
    opposite: affluence, opulence, richness, wealth, wealthiness
    near: luxury, prosperity

Related Entry: Arise (verb)

Arise is a different word from Need. The synonyms below are for arise, not for need.

  1. to leave one's bed

    "the travelers arose before dawn and were on their way as the sun came up"

    similar: get up, rise, roll out, turn out, uprise
    related: arouse, awake, awaken, bestir, stir, wake
    opposite: bed (down), retire, turn in
    near: catnap, doze, drop off, lie up, nap, nod, rest, sleep, slumber, snooze, bunk, perch, roost, settle, couch, doss (down) (chiefly British), flop (down), lie (down), recline

  2. to come to one's attention especially gradually or unexpectedly

    "note in your report any problems that arise while you are conducting the experiment"

    similar: come up, crop (up), emerge, materialize, spring (up), surface
    related: appear, come out, show up, turn up, chance, come, come about, fall out, go (on), go off, hap, happen, occur, pass, transpire, interfere, interpose, intervene, intrude

  3. to come into existence

    "it is not known exactly how mammals arose, but scientists date the earliest mammals to the Triassic period"

    similar: actualize, appear, begin, break, commence, dawn, engender, form, materialize, originate, set in, spring, start
    related: be, breathe, exist, live, subsist, arrive, come on, emerge, coalesce, cohere, shape (up), continue, endure, last, persist, survive
    opposite: cease, end, stop
    near: conclude, desist, discontinue, finish, halt, quit, terminate, disappear, dissolve, evaporate, vanish, depart, die, expire, pass away, perish

  4. to move or extend upward

    "slowly the hot-air balloon arose, and the round-the-world flight was begun"

    similar: ascend, aspire, climb, lift, mount, rise, soar, thrust, up, uprear, uprise, upthrust, upturn
    related: surge, tower, boost, elevate, raise, upheave, uplift, upraise, balloon, blast off, take off, zoom, crest, scale, surmount, top, cant, incline, lean, list, recline, slant, slope, tilt, tip
    opposite: decline, descend, dip, drop, fall (off), plunge
    near: dive, nose-dive, plummet, sink, slide

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Need

The most common words with a similar meaning to Need:

Archaic: do
bear, challenge, claim, demand, necessitate, require, take, want, warrant, have (to), must, ought (to), shall, should, call for, absence, lack, needfulness, condition, essential, must-have, necessary, necessity, needful, requirement, requisite, sine qua non, burden, charge, commitment, devoir, duty, imperative, incumbency, obligation, office, responsibility, beggary, destituteness, destitution

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Need

Words with the opposite meaning of Need:

have, hold, nonessential, nonnecessity, affluence, opulence, richness, wealth, wealthiness

Related Words for Need

entail, involve, ask, beg, clamor (for), cry (for), hurt (for), command, enjoin, exact, insist, press, quest, stipulate, will, deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, dearth, meagerness, paucity, scantiness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, skimpiness, defect, minus, deprivation

Near Antonyms of Need

own, possess, adequacy, enough, sufficiency, fund, pool, stock, supply, excess, fill, overabundance, oversupply, plenty, surfeit, surplus, hoard, stockpile, amenity, comfort, extra, extravagance, frill, indulgence, luxury, superfluity, surplusage, grace, postponement, stay

Word Forms of Need

Inflections: needed, needing, needs

Origin & Etymology of Need

Middle English ned, from Old English nīed, nēd; akin to Old High German nōt distress, need, Old Prussian nautin need

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Need

Words & Phrases Containing Need

a crying need, a friend in need is a friend indeed, as the need arises, feel the need, hour of need, if need be, in need, in need of

Frequently Asked Questions about Need

What does "Need" mean?

"Need" means necessary duty, obligation. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: necessary duty, obligation. It has 6 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Need"?

Other words for "Need" include bear, challenge, claim, demand, necessitate, require, take and want. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Need" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Need"?

There are 131 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Need". Common alternatives include bear, challenge, claim, demand, necessitate, require, take, want, warrant and have (to).

What is the opposite of "Need"?

Antonyms of "Need" include have, hold, nonessential, nonnecessity, affluence, opulence, richness and wealth. Near antonyms include own, possess, adequacy and enough.

How do you use "Need" in a sentence?

Examples of "Need" in a sentence: "a national crisis that needs a strong leader to solve it"; "you need not stand when she enters the room"; "when it came time to wrap the presents, he found he was in need of adhesive tape".

Is "Need" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Need" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Need" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Need" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Need"?

"Need" is pronounced /ˈnēd/.