need
/nid/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.97 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A desire or craving for the satisfaction of a requirement perceived as essential or primal.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "There's no need to speculate; we can easily find out for sure."
- "She grew irritated with his constant need for attention."
- "Our instant needs are not being met."
- "I've always tried to have few needs beyond food, clothing and shelter."
- "Being so great, I have no need to beg."
- "Be governed by your needs, not by your fancy."
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /nid/
- British English: /niːd/
Usage
Inflected Forms
needs (plural)
needs (present, singular)
needing (participle, present)
needed (participle, past)
needed (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
needed (first person, past)
needest (archaic, present)
needed (past, second person)
neededst (archaic, past)
needeth (archaic, present)