Need

How to spell need

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce need

What does need mean?

1. verbTo require something because it is essential or important.
2. nounA situation in which something is required or wanted; a necessity.

Need in a sentence

• verb

  The new staff need access to the shared drive before Monday.

• noun

  The charity meets the need of families during winter.

• verb

  Older houses often need extensive rewiring.

• noun

  There is a pressing need for more affordable housing.

Where does need come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from the Old English nied or nēd, a noun meaning 'necessity, compulsion, or distress', which also functioned as a verb. It has deep Germanic roots, related to the Old Saxon nod, the Dutch nood, and the German Not, all carrying the sense of hardship or urgent want. In its earliest English use it often described real danger or extremity, as in the old phrase 'need fire', a fire kindled in an emergency. Over the centuries the meaning softened from outright peril toward the ordinary idea of requiring something. Because it is a short native word with a long vowel, the spelling stayed simple, though it shares its sound with the unrelated 'knead', a separate Old English word for working dough, which is the main spelling trap today.

How the word is built

• need (from Old English nied/nēd: necessity, compulsion)