need

A1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /nid/ UK /niːd/ See IPA manual

Freq #100

Meanings

1

verb
To require something because it is necessary or very important.

Living things need water to survive.
2

verb
To have to do something.

You need to finish your homework before dinner.
3

noun
A situation in which something is necessary.

There is no need to worry; everything is fine.
4

noun
Something that you must have in order to live or be satisfied.

They had enough money to meet their basic needs.

Verb forms

need, needed, needed

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to require something... require

3 noun · a situation in which... occasion

4 noun · something that you must... want demand

Word family

Derived forms call-by-needfeelingneed-basedneed-blindneed-fireneed-notneed-to-knowneedableneedcessityneededneederneedful

Appears in

Phrases (6)

See all

need rain
to require rainfall, especially for crops or water supplies

Verb + noun
need sleep
require rest through sleeping

Verb + noun
need a lawyer
To require legal representation or advice in a situation

Verb + noun
need space
require room, physically or emotionally, often to think or recover

Verb + noun
much-needed rest
a period of relaxation that is greatly required after strain or fatigue

Adjective + noun
need care
To require assistance, attention, or medical support.

Verb + noun

Proverbs (9)

See all

Etymology

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”).

need Middle English nīed Old English *naudi Proto-West Germanic *naudiz Proto-Germanic *neh₂w- Proto-Indo-European nēod Old English *niudi Proto-West Germanic *new- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# need

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /nid/
**IPA (UK):** /niːd/
**Frequency rank:** 100

## Meanings
1. To require something because it is necessary or very important.
2. To have to do something.
3. A situation in which something is necessary.
4. Something that you must have in order to live or be satisfied.

## Examples
- Living things need water to survive.
- You need to finish your homework before dinner.
- There is no need to worry; everything is fine.
- They had enough money to meet their basic needs.

## Synonyms
- require

## Derived Forms
- call-by-need
- feeling
- need-based
- need-blind
- need-fire
- need-not
- need-to-know
- needable
- needcessity
- needed
- needer
- needful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: need
- Root: nīed
- Root: *naudi
- Root: *naudiz
- Root: *neh₂w-
- Root: nēod
- Root: *niudi
- Root: *new-

## Etymology
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”).

## AI Etymology
Need comes 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”). Modern senses include to require something because it is necessary or very important and to have to do something. The wider word family includes derivatives such as call-by-need, feeling, need-based, need-blind, need-fire, and need-not.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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