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Definitions

need

[need] / nid /






Usage

What are other ways to say need? The verb need often suggests urgency, stressing the necessity of supplying what is lacking: to need an operation, better food, a match to light the fire. Require, which expresses necessity as strongly as need, occurs most frequently in serious or formal contexts: Your presence at the hearing is required. Successful experimentation requires careful attention to detail. Lack means to be without or to have less than a desirable quantity of something: to lack courage, sufficient money, enough members to make a quorum. 

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"Do you think I need to be out of the country as early as Monday?" the banker asked on November 15 in one of those texts.

From Barron's Sep. 5, 2026

However, Sir Richard said there was "no need" for the war.

From BBC Sep. 5, 2026

To make smart moves, savers need to know about future taxes—but this is impossible.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

“It’s what we need to do to win the next play. That toughness, that internal belief. That’s what it’s about.”

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

“I have some supplies I need to pick up for the shop, so I can drop you off. But your dad is gonna need to pick you up.”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

It is a powerful distinction, though Mr. Rebeiro’s penchant for parsing interpretive categories occasionally makes a straightforward insight more juridically elaborate than it needs to be.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

However, she said, the fire department still needs to be much larger.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

It nevertheless needs to modernise its infrastructure, particularly the link with Rostock, said Schairer.

From Barron's Sep. 4, 2026

"He's looked miserable, defensive, and complaining. He needs to get over it, and I think we'll see a better, more attractive Nigel in the coming days."

From BBC Sep. 4, 2026

I try to prepare myself for Dara’s date with Elliott—you know, motivational words like, “You don’t hate your fave cousin” and “Who needs boys anyway?”

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

"There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire -- without its own airstrikes -- for the duration needed to conduct these talks," he said in his evening address.

From Barron's Sep. 5, 2026

She needed to know what all manner of women thought about a wide variety of topics.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 4, 2026

It said it will continue to look for ways to improve while still securing the information needed to make a robust assessment of the level of support needed by each applicant.

From BBC Sep. 4, 2026

Future research on swimming performance and embryonic development will be needed to test that possibility.

From Science Daily Sep. 4, 2026

“I needed a break from that,” he says, his thumb hitching at the house behind us.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

In an early Bristol Myers study of just over 100 patients, more than 90% of patients with treatment-resistant autoimmune disease went into remission without needing further treatment, the company said last year.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 3, 2026

A large share of that cellular waste consists of neutrophils, with roughly 100 billion of them needing to be cleared every day.

From Science Daily Sep. 3, 2026

This year's multiple heat waves have increased the numbers of white goods such as fridges and freezers breaking down and needing to be scrapped at specialist sites.

From BBC Aug. 29, 2026

USC was at its best early, even with its fleet of freshmen needing time to find their footing.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 29, 2026

Or sometimes just the FedEx man needing a signature for a package.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi




Vocabulary lists containing need


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