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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:

“We do not yet need to sell the SpaceX shares you are bullish on,” she said, referring to Zhao.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

She also cites the need to make sure faculty receive equal pay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

What happens next is what we need to watch.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

There, they were treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital for checks, but they did not need to be admitted.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Your internal organs, especially the brain and heart, need a constant core temperature to function.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Latino voters were more evenly split between the two issues, and more focused on other needs than voters of other ethnic and racial groups.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

In Thursday’s Macro Voices podcast, he noted that if AI displaces workers and reduces their earning power, then the outstanding debt still needs to be serviced.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

"This is something that needs to happen. The police were attending calls where there really wasn't a policing issue," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Psychologist and psychotherapist Matteo Lancini said part of the problem was schools themselves because they were "totally disconnected" from young people's needs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

“I told him that wasn’t good enough. I told him he needs to be okay for himself first. And the rest will come.”

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

Buckland said the government needed to strike a balance between protecting creative industries and allowing AI to develop.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

More structural changes are needed to help residents cope with extreme heat, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

But I’m still angry with them for the way they treated their father, especially when he was dying and needed them most.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

Critical minerals, which are a key focus of the summit, are needed for green technologies such as batteries and wind turbines that Europe sources mostly from China but are also in plentiful stock in Canada.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

And that necklace clinked, which was the last thing you needed.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Mike DiGiovanna, the longtime Times baseball writer, called Newhan “a security blanket” for colleagues needing a fact check, a phone number or an introduction to someone famous.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Earlier this month, Daly said she still put some probability on the Fed not needing to raise rates again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

There’s no financial-aid office for 74-year-olds needing to fund their postworking years.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

That leaves both Spurs and Arsenal needing wins to realistically stand any chance of overhauling them in the race for Champions League football next season - starting at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Tío Ermenio says he’s staying behind in case anybody comes by needing a place to stay.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya


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