How to Use necessity in a Sentence

necessity

noun
  • All we took with us on our hiking trip were the bare necessities.
  • Without a car, living close to work is a necessity.
  • Getting plenty of rest is a necessity.
  • Sunscreen is an absolute necessity for the beach.
  • For Boorse, the necessity of the work — and the tenets of her faith — sustain her for the fight ahead.
    The Salt Lake Tribune, 30 Aug. 2022
  • The first was a great love of Buckley’s, and the second a great necessity.
    Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 25 May 2023
  • The one piece that is always a necessity at the game is my purse.
    Skyler Caruso, People.com, 24 Dec. 2024
  • What good is any of this art in the face of real necessity?
    Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2023
  • Most everyone seems to agree on the supremacy of Koegel’s brand dogs and the necessity of beef heart in the chili.
    J. J. Goode, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2023
  • The reason that’s just me on those songs is out of necessity.
    Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 17 Aug. 2022
  • The change in metrics will happen out of necessity, the source said.
    Brenda Goodman, CNN, 28 Apr. 2023
  • The man and the boy scavenge sites for life’s necessities, most notably food and weapons.
    Hazlitt, 23 Oct. 2024
  • The zip-up jacket hits around the waist, and there are two side pockets for your necessities.
    Phoebe Sklansky, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2023
  • To the Ledger-ites, the promise of crypto and the necessity of self-custody will prevail.
    Steven Levy, WIRED, 6 Dec. 2022
  • Strap-on spikes are another necessity in the ice and snow – kind of like tire chains for your shoes.
    Jennifer Jolly, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2023
  • The outside of the cabin has been set ablaze, and the team has just enough time to grab basic necessities and get out before the roof caves in.
    Quinci Legardye, Harper's BAZAAR, 30 May 2023
  • Students need to learn to budget with an income in mind and the cost of necessities.
    Madeleine Parrish, The Arizona Republic, 2 Oct. 2024
  • But one of those trips was to eat at a restaurant Bert saw in a movie, while others were made out of necessity.
    Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 6 Dec. 2022
  • Some of us grew up parsing through thrift stores out of necessity.
    Tess Garcia, refinery29.com, 23 June 2022
  • The move to a new apartment was out of necessity, according to Lynn.
    Hannah Drown, cleveland, 26 Dec. 2022
  • Keep in Mind: The 35-inch cord means an extension cord is a necessity.
    Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2022
  • While babies and toddlers might not need much, one of those necessities is a car seat.
    Ashleigh Morley, Parents, 29 Nov. 2024
  • The necessities of running the Pentagon means that the No. 1 guy has to be in touch anywhere, anytime.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2025
  • This isn't the Top Chef of yore, where tweezers and microgreens were a necessity.
    Randall Colburn, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The trip was born of the moral necessity to understand the injustices of colonial abuse.
    Sophy Roberts, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024
  • But Meyer, who’s very good in the part, feels like a real person who plots her schemes out of necessity.
    Pamela Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Early mornings and evenings can bring a chill, even in the summer, so a light layer like this is a necessity.
    Gabrielle Porcaro, Travel + Leisure, 29 July 2023
  • Sometimes the photo shows not the change, but the necessity of it, a reminder that the status quo cannot continue.
    Time, 23 Nov. 2022
  • What the Fed does is more complicated than what most news stories imply, and that’s partly out of necessity.
    Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Last season, out of necessity, Guhle played on the right side a lot, oftentimes with Matheson, so there would be some familiarity there.
    Arpon Basu, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'necessity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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