Meaning of "need" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD NEED

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

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF NEED

need  [niːd]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF NEED

Need is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb need in English.

WHAT DOES NEED MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Need

A need is something that is necessary for organisms to live a healthy life. Needs are distinguished from wants because a deficiency would cause a clear negative outcome, such as dysfunction or death. Needs can be objective and physical, such as food, or they can be subjective and psychological, such as the need for self-esteem. On a social level, needs are sometimes controversial. Understanding needs and wants is an issue in the fields of politics, social science, and philosophy.

Definition of need in the English dictionary

The first definition of need in the dictionary is to be in want of. Other definition of need is to require or be required of necessity ; be obliged. Need is also 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.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO NEED

PRESENT

Present

I need

you need

he/she/it needs

we need

you need

they need

Present continuous

I am needing

you are needing

he/she/it is needing

we are needing

you are needing

they are needing

Present perfect

I have needed

you have needed

he/she/it has needed

we have needed

you have needed

they have needed

Present perfect continuous

I have been needing

you have been needing

he/she/it has been needing

we have been needing

you have been needing

they have been needing

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I needed

you needed

he/she/it needed

we needed

you needed

they needed

Past continuous

I was needing

you were needing

he/she/it was needing

we were needing

you were needing

they were needing

Past perfect

I had needed

you had needed

he/she/it had needed

we had needed

you had needed

they had needed

Past perfect continuous

I had been needing

you had been needing

he/she/it had been needing

we had been needing

you had been needing

they had been needing

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will need

you will need

he/she/it will need

we will need

you will need

they will need

Future continuous

I will be needing

you will be needing

he/she/it will be needing

we will be needing

you will be needing

they will be needing

Future perfect

I will have needed

you will have needed

he/she/it will have needed

we will have needed

you will have needed

they will have needed

Future perfect continuous

I will have been needing

you will have been needing

he/she/it will have been needing

we will have been needing

you will have been needing

they will have been needing

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would need

you would need

he/she/it would need

we would need

you would need

they would need

Conditional continuous

I would be needing

you would be needing

he/she/it would be needing

we would be needing

you would be needing

they would be needing

Conditional perfect

I would have need

you would have need

he/she/it would have need

we would have need

you would have need

they would have need

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been needing

you would have been needing

he/she/it would have been needing

we would have been needing

you would have been needing

they would have been needing

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you need
we let´s need
you need

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to need

Past participle

needed

Present Participle

needing

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «NEED»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «need» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of need

call · demand · deprivation · desideratum · desire · destitution · distress · emergency · entail · essential · exigency · extremity · hunger · impecuniousness · inadequacy · indigence · insufficiency · lack · longing · miss · must-have · necessitate · necessity · neediness · obligation · paucity · penury · poverty · privation · require · requirement · requisite · shortage · urgency · want · wish

TRANSLATION OF NEED

Find out the translation of need to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of need from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «need» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 需求
• Translator English - Spanish: necesidad
• English: need
• Translator English - Hindi: जरूरत
• Translator English - Arabic: حَاجَةٌ
• Translator English - Russian: необходимый элемент
• Translator English - Portuguese: necessidade
• Translator English - Bengali: প্রয়োজন
• Translator English - French: besoin
• Translator English - Malay: Keperluan
• Translator English - German: Bedürfnis
• Translator English - Japanese: 必要
• Translator English - Korean: 요구
• Translator English - Javanese: Perlu
• Translator English - Vietnamese: nhu cầu
• Translator English - Tamil: தேவை
• Translator English - Marathi: गरज
• Translator English - Turkish: gerek
• Translator English - Italian: esigenza
• Translator English - Polish: potrzeba
• Translator English - Ukrainian: потреба
• Translator English - Romanian: nevoie
• Translator English - Greek: ανάγκη
• Translator English - Afrikaans: nodig
• Translator English - Swedish: behov
• Translator English - Norwegian: behov

10 QUOTES WITH «NEED»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word need.

1

Chris Abani

Like most writers, I find the Web is a wonderful distraction. Who doesn't need that last minute research before writing?

2

Freddy Adu

You can teach all the other stuff, you know. You can teach shooting the ball, you can teach having a good touch... passing and whatnot, but when you get out there on the field, it's just a mindset you need to go into the game with.

3

Douglas Alexander

In an era of billion-person countries and trillion-pound economies, we need to find ways to amplify our voice. We are most likely to be heard when the Chinese negotiate with a £10 trillion E.U., not a £1.5 trillion Britain.

4

Sasha Alexander

I believe life takes us where we need to be.

5

John Ashcroft

We need to strengthen our analytic capacity in Washington, we need to centralize the anti-terrorism effort.

6

Shaukat Aziz

We need prefab housing, we need to repair what can be repaired. We have appealed to the whole world to ship tents and blankets to Pakistan.

7

Joe Baca

Head Start graduates are more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to need special education, repeat a grade, or commit crimes in adolescence.

8

Linwood Barclay

Once you come up with a premise, you have to work out how it all happened. It's a bit like coming up with a spectacular roof design first. Before you can get it up there, you need to build a solid foundation and supporting structure.

9

Ethel Barrymore

The best time to make friends is before you need them.

10

Jello Biafra

I do fear for the generations of people who came of age thinking that pop-punk is what punk is, and that all the rebellion you need is just to stick your tongue out in the mirror every once in a while.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «NEED»

Discover the use of need in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to need and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

All You Need to Know About the Music Business

Here is a book for anyone interested in a music career: a comprehensive and crucial guide to making it in one of the world’s most dynamic industries.

Donald S. Passman, 2011

The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need: A One-Stop Source ...

The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need is the ideal resource for everyone who wants to produce writing that is clear, concise, and grammatically excellent.

Susan Thurman, Larry Shea, 2003

Need

Happily married psychiatrist Pam Thompson finds her comfortable life with her graphic artist husband, Dennis, beginning to unravel when she takes on Joan Dwyer, an attractive, forty-something woman abandoned by her husband, as a patient.

Lawrence David, 1996

Do Museums Still Need Objects?

"We live in a museum age," writes Steven Conn in Do Museums Still Need Objects?

Steven Conn, 2011

Why Societies Need Dissent

In this timely book, Cass R. Sunstein shows that organizations and nations are far more likely to prosper if they welcome dissent and promote openness.

Cass R. Sunstein, 2003

Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need to Know I Learned in ...

A book to raise the spirits and warm the heart. Includes the famous Kindergarten essay that was read on the floor of the U.S. Senate.From the Hardcover edition.

Robert Fulghum, 1999

Need: A Chorale for Black Women Voices : Pin

This explicitly Black feminist perspective is especially powerful during an era when violence against women and other hate crimes have escalated to epidemic proportions.

Audre Lorde, 1990

The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need: ...

This edition of The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need still includes detailed information about how to cast your own chart the old-fashioned way and how to interpret it once you’re finished.

Joanna Martine Woolfolk, 2012

1100 Words You Need to Know

A new "Bonus Materials" section commemorates this book's 40th Anniversary as a leader in vocabulary building and test preparation.

Murray Bromberg, Melvin Gordon, 2008

Need

He's a pixie. But not the cute, sweet kind with little wings. Maine's got a whole assortment of unbelievable creatures. And they seem to need something - something from Zara . . .

Carrie Jones, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «NEED»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term need is used in the context of the following news items.

Forget the Cardinals: Cubs need to focus on wild card

Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester rubs the ball in the eighth inning against the Braves. Lester took a no-hitter into the inning before losing it on a ... «Chicago Tribune, Jul 15»

13 Documents Mortgage Lenders Need From Homebuyers

13 Documents Mortgage Lenders Need From Homebuyers. Be prepared to share the intimate financial details in your bank statements, tax ... «U.S. News & World Report, Jul 15»

Cuthbert: Cork just need 'one big win'

We just need one big win against one of the big teams and maybe then some of the criticism will be levelled at some other side. I've seen this ... «RTE.ie, Jul 15»

Body Weight Planner calculates how many calories you need to cut …

How many calories do YOU need to cut each day to lose weight? New test calculates the exact number based on your height and level of ... «Daily Mail, Jul 15»

14 Things You Need To Know About Dating Someone With Kids

But there's so much more you need to know than that. Below, we summarize some pointers from single moms and dads on our Facebook page ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»

Cynthia Nixon: 'We don't need another Sex and the City'

Hi Cynthia! Your new film, Ruth and Alex, makes quite a few references to how much Brooklyn has changed over the years. Are you a fan of ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

We Kurds are the antidote to Isis – but we need Britain and Baghdad …

Kurds in Turkey greet a peshmerga convoy joining militias defending the Syrian border town of Kobane. 'To defeat Daesh we need a mixture of ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»

Tour de France Stage 19 Preview: Everything You Need to Know

With only two stages left before the Tour's final stage, Nairo Quintana and his Movistar teammates need to go on the attack as early and as ... «Bicycling, Jul 15»

What you need to know about the jobless claims drop

A near 42-year low in an economic reading as essential as weekly jobless claims is always going to get lots of investor attention. This time ... «CNBC, Jul 15»

These anti-homeless spikes are brutal. We need to get rid of them

'Defensive architecture' is a cynical attempt to sweep away poverty and inequality. Better Than Spikes want to make our urban spaces more ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»