need
verb/niːd/
/niːd/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they need | /niːd/ /niːd/ |
| he / she / it needs | /niːdz/ /niːdz/ |
| past simple needed | /ˈniːdɪd/ /ˈniːdɪd/ |
| past participle needed | /ˈniːdɪd/ /ˈniːdɪd/ |
| -ing form needing | /ˈniːdɪŋ/ /ˈniːdɪŋ/ |
- to require something/somebody because they are essential or very important, not just because you would like to have them
- need something/somebody Do you need any help?
- It's here if you need it.
- Don't go—I might need you.
- They badly needed a change.
- We desperately need hard facts on this disease.
- Food aid is urgently needed.
- What do you need your own computer for? You can use ours.
- She needs more time to recover.
- People need income not handouts.
- More new housing is needed in the city.
- I don't need your comments, thank you.
- need to do something I need to get some sleep.
- He needs to win this game to stay in the match.
- You don't need to leave yet, do you?
- You need to know how toxic the product is.
- This shirt needs to be washed.
- something needs doing This shirt needs washing.
Extra Examples- How much time is needed for maintenance and repairs?
- They question whether American consumers really need the product.
- I just need some information.
- Research is urgently needed into the causes of this illness.
- She needed some money badly.
- These people may need 24-hour attention, but they do not necessarily need to be in hospital.
- You hardly need me to tell you that your father is still very frail and must not be upset.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- badly
- desperately
- really
- …
- be going to
- be expected to
- be likely to
- …
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- need to do something used to show what you should or have to do
- All you need to do is complete this form.
- I didn't need to go to the bank after all—Mary lent me the money.
- You may well need to look outside your preferred area to find affordable accommodation.
Grammar Point needneed- There are two separate verbs need.
- Need as a main verb has the question form do you need?, the negative you don’t need and the past forms needed, did you need? and didn’t need. It has two meanings: 1. to require something or to think that something is necessary:
- Do you need any help?
- I needed to get some sleep.
- Will we need to show our passports?
- Need as a modal verb has need for all forms of the present tense, need you? as the question form and need not (needn’t) as the negative. To talk about the past, use the perfect forms need have and needn’t have with the past participle. It is used to say that something is or is not necessary:
- Need I pay the whole amount now?
Word OriginOld English nēodian (verb), nēod, nēd (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch nood and German Not ‘danger’.
Idioms
See need in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee need in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishneed (to have) your head examined
- (informal) to be crazy
Check pronunciation:
need