requisite

adjective

req·​ui·​site ˈre-kwə-zət 

: needed for a particular purpose : essential, necessary

has the requisite skills/knowledge/experience for the job

… the bill was ultimately pulled after it became clear it would not get the requisite number of votes needed to pass the House …

—Kaitlyn Schallhorn

Classic Korean dishes, such as braised short ribs and meat dumplings, would be set out alongside the requisite [Thanksgiving] turkey and mashed potatoes.

—Martha Fay

Politics, to one degree or another, are a requisite part of committee work …

—Angela D. Thompsell

requisite noun

plural requisites

For my part, I have never seen why a Ph.D. should be a requisite for college-level teaching.

—Andrew Hacker

requisiteness noun

… the moral optimality of their conduct does not eliminate the wrongness of what they have done or the requisiteness of legal sanctions in response.

—Matthew H. Kramer

Did you know?

Ask Us About Requisite

Acquiring an understanding of where requisite comes from won't require a formal inquiry. Without question, the quest begins with the Latin verb quaerere, which means "to ask" or "to seek." That word is ancestor to a number of English words, including acquire, require, inquiry, question, quest, and, of course, requisite. From quaerere came requirere, meaning "to ask again." Repeated requests can express a need, and the past participle of the Latin word requirere, which is requisitus, came to mean "needed" or "necessary." English acquired requisite when it was adopted into Middle English back in the 1400s.

Synonyms of requisite

• necessary
• required
• essential
• needed
• integral
• needful

Examples of requisite in a Sentence

this new CD is the requisite album of the year for classical music lovers

Recent Examples on the Web

Even if a therapist is hip to asking about AI usage during the initial sign-up for therapy, there is still a requisite need to ask the client directly during the opening therapy session. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

His marketing of Marty’s requisite warm-up jacket, worn by Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns and Frank Ocean among others, is a study in Starter-era NBA nostalgia and hype goosed by lavish co-signs (the jacket flips for around $10,000 lately on StockX). —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026

Despite the heat, tasters said, there was the requisite sweet-savory dance of tomato flavor, as well as complex herbaceous notes which rounded out the flavors in the mix. —Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 20 Jan. 2026

The 49ers doled out the requisite compliments to the Seahawks, Darnold and their defense. —Cam Inman, Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin requisitus, past participle of requirere

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for requisite

• prerequisite

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Kids Definition

requisite

adjective

req·​ui·​site ˈrek-wə-zət 

: needed for reaching a goal or achieving a purpose

requisite noun

requisiteness noun