The Definition of Need

need /nid/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[need] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1.
a requirement, necessary duty, or obligation: There is no need for you to go there.
2.
a lack of something wanted or deemed necessary: to fulfill the needs of the assignment.
3.
urgent want, as of something requisite: He has no need of your charity.
4.
necessity arising from the circumstances of a situation or case: There is no need to worry.
5.
a situation or time of difficulty; exigency: to help a friend in need; to be a friend in need.
6.
a condition marked by the lack of something requisite: the need for leadership.
7.
destitution; extreme poverty: The family's need is acute. –verb (used with object)
8.
to have need of; require: to need money. –verb (used without object)
9.
to be under an obligation (used as an auxiliary, typically in an interrogative or in a negative statement, and fol. by infinitive, in certain cases without to; in the 3d pers. sing. the form is need, not needs): He need not go.
10.
to be in need or want.
11.
to be necessary: There needs no apology. —Idiom
12.
if need be, should the necessity arise: If need be, I can type the letters myself.
[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME nede, OE néd (WSaxon nīed), c. G Not, ON nauth, Goth nauths; (v.) ME neden, OE néodian, deriv. of the n.] —Related forms
needer, noun
—Synonyms 2, 3. See lack. 3. requirement. 4. Need, necessity imply a want, a lack, or a demand, which must be filled. Need, a word of Old English origin, has connotations that make it strong in emotional appeal: the need to be appreciated. Necessity, a word of Latin origin, is more formal and impersonal or objective; though much stronger than need in expressing urgency or imperative demand, it is less effective in appealing to the emotions: Water is a necessity for living things. 5. emergency. 7. neediness, indigence, penury, privation. See poverty. 8. want, lack.
—Antonyms 7. wealth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.