- [countable, usually plural] something that you need or want
- She spent her life pandering to the wants of her children.
Extra Examples- Society can't satisfy all human wants.
- a society that satisfied all human wants
- The snail does not need to travel far to satisfy all its bodily wants.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- human
- material
- meet
- satisfy
- for want of
- in want
- [uncountable, singular] want of something (formal) a situation in which there is not enough of something synonym lack
- There is a want of adequate medical facilities.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- human
- material
- meet
- satisfy
- for want of
- in want
- [uncountable] (formal) the state of being poor, not having food, etc.
- Visitors to the slums were clearly shocked to see so many families living in want.
- Thousands of children are living in want.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- human
- material
- meet
- satisfy
- for want of
- in want
something you need
lack
being poor
Word OriginMiddle English: the noun from Old Norse vant, neuter of vanr ‘lacking’; the verb from Old Norse vanta ‘be lacking’. The original notion of “lack” was early extended to “need” and from this developed the sense ‘desire’.
Idioms
See want in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee want in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishfor (the) want of something
- because of a lack of something; because something is not available
- The project failed for want of financial backing.
- We call our music ‘postmodern’ for the want of a better word.
- We went for a walk for want of something better to do.
in want of something
- (formal) needing something
- The present system is in want of a total review.
not for (the) want of doing something
- used to say that if something is not successful, it is not because of a lack of effort
- If he doesn't manage to convince them, it won't be for want of trying (= he has tried hard).
Check pronunciation:
want