want

verb \ ˈwȯnt also ˈwänt and ˈwənt \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

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Examples: want in a Sentence

Definition of want

wanted; wanting; wants

intransitive verb

1 : to be needy or destitute

2 : to have or feel need

never wants for friends

3 : to be necessary or needed

4 : to desire to come, go, or be

the cat wants in

wants out of the deal

transitive verb

1 : to fail to possess especially in customary or required amount : lack

the answer wanted courtesy

2 a : to have a strong desire for

wanted a chance to rest

b : to have an inclination to : like

say what you want, he is efficient

3 a : to have need of : require

the motor wants a tune-up

b : to suffer from the lack of

thousands still want food and shelter

4 : ought —used with the infinitive

you want to be very careful what you say
—Claudia Cassidy

5 : to wish or demand the presence of

6 : to hunt or seek in order to apprehend

wanted for murder

See want defined for English-language learners

See want defined for kids

Examples of want in a Sentence

Do you want more coffee?
He wants a bicycle for his birthday.
I just wanted a chance to rest.
She wanted more time to finish the test.
Do you want anything from the store?
What do you want for Christmas?
You can choose whichever color you want.
The motor wants a tune-up.
Thousands of poor people still want food and shelter.
Tell him that the teacher wants him.

Recent Examples of want from the Web

The desire for dedicated pickleball courts ranked in the top 25 things residents wanted the Naperville Park District to provide, according to a survey conducted in March.

— gary gibula, Naperville Sun, "Naperville answering demand for pickleball with new courts at Nike Complex, Southwest Park," 14 July 2018
On Syria, Mr Trump, along with his allies in Israel and the Gulf, wants Russia to push Iran out of the country.

— The Economist, "Vladimir Putin’s hopes for his long-awaited meeting with Donald Trump," 14 July 2018
Hints of Primitive Cognition But Dussutour wanted to push further and see whether that habituating memory could be recalled in the long term.

— katia moskvitch, WIRED, "Slime Molds Remember—But Do They Learn?," 14 July 2018
Although his father, a career naval officer, wanted John Schlosser to follow in his footsteps at the United States Naval Academy, poor eyesight kept him out.

— lisa deaderick, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Leading a local council to teach people about the world around them," 14 July 2018
The Army wants to move faster from prototypes, to testing, to evaluation and, if necessary, modify and repeat the whole process.

— meghan bobrowsky, Philly.com, "Philadelphia loses out to Austin in bid for new Army Futures Command center," 13 July 2018
Casanova wanted to unravel those tragic cases of flu, in which a child with no apparent underlying illness wound up in the intensive care unit.

— claudia wallis, Scientific American, "Extreme Flu? Weird Encephalitis? It May Be Your Genes," 13 July 2018
At the same time, Deluc wants us to know that Gauguin was not simply some bohemian outlier.

— peter rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti' chronicles Gauguin’s desire to see a new way," 13 July 2018
But Cobb wants to expand and add a 25-yard, three-lane shooting range as the business relocates to one of the two new commercial buildings going up as part of the Palumbo development.

— erin sauder, Elgin Courier-News, "East Dundee to get another gun range," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'want.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of want

Middle English, from Old Norse vanta; akin to Old English wan deficient

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

want Synonyms

Phrases

call for;

Synonym Discussion of want

desire, wish, want, crave, covet mean to have a longing for. desire stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim.

- desires to start a new life

wish sometimes implies a general or transient longing especially for the unattainable.

- wishes for permanent world peace

want specifically suggests a felt need or lack.

- wants to have a family

crave stresses the force of physical appetite or emotional need.

- craves sweets

covet implies strong envious desire.

- covets his rise to fame

want

noun

Definition of want

1 a : deficiency, lack

suffers from a want of good sense

b : grave and extreme poverty that deprives one of the necessities of life

2 : something wanted : need, desire

3 : personal defect : fault

See want defined for English-language learners

Examples of want in a Sentence

His attitude shows a want of proper respect.
He is suffering from want of adequate sleep.
people who are living in want

Recent Examples of want from the Web

For decades prior, the southwestern borderlands had prospered under a more fluid, humane and practical definition of boundaries, driven in large part by the wants and needs of the blended, binational border communities.

— time staff, Time, "The 25 Moments From American History That Matter Right Now," 28 June 2018
What people my age want and need is reinvention, and thinking about the trends and what people wear right now.

— kristen tauer | wwd, latimes.com, "Kit Keenan, daughter of Cynthia Rowley, launching her own line," 27 June 2018
Winning awards, acquiring wealth, attending a prestigious college — these measures of success, Adams said, center on the expectations of others, rather than one’s own wants and dreams.

— nyssa kruse, courant.com, "Wethersfield High School Graduates Told to Follow Dreams, Be Kind," 22 June 2018
The staff limits its attentions to the needs and wants of its customers.

— james estrin, New York Times, "Discovering the Art of Craft," 19 June 2018
But for want of a better term, that narrative has entered that stage.

— stephen daw, Billboard, "Sakima Wants You to Talk With Your Body on His New Single 'Show Me': Exclusive Premiere," 30 May 2018
MPs now talk a lot about the wants and needs of those who voted for Brexit—typically less-affluent people who did not go to university.

— fraser nelson, WSJ, "The U.K. Is Doing Just Fine, Thanks," 23 Mar. 2018
For want of a better way to put it, how meta is Metal?

— graeme mcmillan, The Hollywood Reporter, "DC Writers Grant Morrison and Scott Snyder on the "Lunacy" of 'The Wild Hunt'," 14 Feb. 2018
And while police reform is vitally necessary, far more African-Americans die each year for want of health insurance than from police shootings.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Ocasio-Cortez Proved That ‘Identity Politics’ Is an Asset For Berniecrats," 27 June 2018

First Known Use of want

13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

want Synonyms

Synonyms

absence, dearth, lack;

Antonyms

presence;

Near Antonyms

abundance, amplitude, bounty, plenitude, plenteousness, plentifulness, plentitude, plenty, wealth;

adequacy, sufficiency;

excess, overabundance, oversupply, superabundance, surfeit, surplus;

deluge, flood;

bushel, deal, gobs, heap, loads, lot, mass, mountain, much, oodles, peck, pile, pot, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, volume, wad;

deprivation, loss, necessity, need, needfulness, omission;

Synonym Discussion of want

poverty, indigence, penury, want, destitution mean the state of one with insufficient resources. poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

- the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

- the indigence of her years as a graduate student

penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

- a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.

- lived in a perpetual state of want
- the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

WANT Defined for English Language Learners

want

verb

Definition of want for English Language Learners

: to desire or wish for (something)
: to need (something)
: to be without (something needed)

want

noun

Definition of want for English Language Learners

: the state or condition of not having any or enough of something
: something that is desired or needed
: the state or condition of being poor

WANT Defined for Kids

want

verb \ ˈwȯnt , ˈwänt \

Definition of want for Students

wanted; wanting

1 : to desire, wish, or long for something

I want to go home.

2 : to feel or suffer the need of something

… such a ghastly brew as to make me want to swoon.
—Avi, Crispin

3 : to be without : lack

Luckily, my family does not want much.

want

noun

Definition of want for Students

1 : ²lack, shortage

His actions show a want of common sense.

2 : the state of being very poor

They died in want.

3 : a wish for something : desire

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want

Definition of want

Examples of want in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of want

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Synonym Discussion of want

want

Definition of want

Examples of want in a Sentence

Recent Examples of want from the Web

First Known Use of want

want Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of want

WANT Defined for English Language Learners

want

Definition of want for English Language Learners

want

Definition of want for English Language Learners

WANT Defined for Kids

want

Definition of want for Students

want

Definition of want for Students

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