Standard Lemma guide

needs

adv · name · noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /niːdz/
  • Received-Pronunciation: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /nidz/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːdz
  • CMU ARPABET: N IY1 D Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Either directly or indirectly preceded or followed by an auxiliary verb, often must: of necessity or need; necessarily, indispensably.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

plural of need

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, plural

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

third-person singular simple present indicative of need

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adverb

Meaning 5

in such a manner as could not be otherwise

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • it is necessarily so
  • we must needs by objective

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inevitably, necessarily, of necessity

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English nedes (“of necessity, necessarily; inevitably, unavoidably”) [and other forms], from Old English nēdes, nīedes (“of necessity; not willingly”), from nīed + -es (suffix forming adverbs from nouns). The English word is equivalent to need + -'s (possessive marker) and hence to need + -s (suffix forming adverbs).

Variant of Nead.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Real reading context

needs in complete knowledge articles