Entry Word: need

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a state of being without something necessary, desirable, or useful <when it came time to wrap the presents, he found he was in need of adhesive tape>

Synonyms absence, lack, needfulness, want

Related Words deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency; dearth, meagerness, paucity, poverty, scantiness, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, skimpiness; defect, minus; deprivation, famishment, privation; demand, essential, necessity, requirement, requisite

Near Antonyms adequacy, enough, sufficiency; fund, pool, stock, supply; excess, fill, overabundance, oversupply, plenty, surfeit, surplus; hoard, stockpile

2 something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable <got a job that provided for his basic needs> — see essential 1
3 something one must do because of prior agreement <no need to apologize> — see obligation
4 the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions <donating money to help those in need> — see poverty 1