DEMAND


Meaning of DEMAND in English

I. də̇ˈmand, dēˈ-, -maa(ə)nd, -mȧnd noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English demaunde, from Middle French demande, from demander

1.

a. : the act of demanding or asking especially with authority : a peremptory request

wishes turned into demands for obedience

b.

(1) : the asking or seeking for what is due or claimed as due

(2) : the right or title in virtue of which something may be claimed

hold a demand against a person

(3) : a thing or amount claimed to be due

2. archaic : earnest inquiry : question , query

3.

a. : a manifested desire for ownership or use (as of a commodity) : a need or request for a commodity

b. : willingness and ability to purchase a commodity or service

c. : the quantities of goods or of a service that would be purchased at each of various possible prices at a given time

d. : the sum spent on or the quantity purchased of a commodity or service

4.

a. : a seeking or state of being sought after especially with authority or insistence

his eloquence brought him into frequent demand as an occasional speaker — Ella Lonn

nickel is in great demand

b. : urgent need : requirement

increased demands for manpower

5. : something that is demanded especially by right or as due : the substance of or matter presented in a claim

demands that are justifiable and reasonable

6. : the requirement of work or of the expenditure of some resource

demands that overtax a piece of machinery

equal to any demands his old ship was likely to make on his competence — Joseph Conrad

7. : a crude peremptory order to relinquish especially without regard to legal right

a kidnapper's demands for money

8. : the electricity load (as of an individual consumer or power plant) usually indicated in kilowatts and averaged over a period of time

9. : demand bid

- on demand

II. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English demaunden, from Middle French demander, from Late Latin demandare to demand, from Latin, to entrust, commit, from de- + mandare to commit to one's charge, order — more at mandate

intransitive verb

: to make a demand : ask , inquire — used with of

transitive verb

1. obsolete : to ask (a person) authoritatively or formally for information

2. : to call for urgently and importunately or peremptorily and imperiously

he no longer demanded such recognition. Instead he prayed for it — Sherwood Anderson

3.

a. : to ask or call for legally : make legal claim to as a rightful owner

b. : to claim as due, just, or fit

the harpooner was demanding the beam that he had paid for — H.A.Chippendale

c. : to ask or call for with force or authority and with expectation of compliance

demand obedience to the rules

4.

a. : to ask with authority or earnestness to be informed of

demand the cause of her sorrow — Shakespeare

b. : to ask to see : bid (a person) to appear authoritatively or insistently

the crowd demanded the star

5. : to call for as useful, necessary, or requisite : make imperative : necessitate , require

the fire that the cool evenings of early spring demanded — Mary Austin

questions that demand discussion of cultural conditions — John Dewey

6. : to summon into court

Synonyms:

require , claim , exact : demand may suggest peremptory imperative communication or strongly necessitous indication

Antonius tomorrow will demand your tribute — Alfred Tennyson

the sun … demanded attention in a manner that would take no denial — C.S.Forester

instincts which the conventions of good manners and the imperatives of morality demand that they should repress — Aldous Huxley

require is more likely to stress the fact of necessity or compulsiveness than the manner of communication or indication, and may seem less strident but more coolly insistent and exigent

the duty of self-preservation requires us to be mentally as well equipped as the French, Germans, and Americans — W.R.Inge

the government of the United States which in the administrations of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson required the services of slightly more than one thousand civilian employees — Alan Barth

claim may indicate a demand or request for due delivery or appropriate concession or recognition based on right, warrant, or sanction and calculated to overcome resistance or reluctance

in Naples the beggars claim an alms noisily and as though by right — Aldous Huxley

authoritarian methods now … come to us claiming to serve the ultimate ends of freedom and equity — John Dewey

exact suggests not asking, claiming, or demanding but instead obtaining or forcing delivery, execution, or concession of what is sought

the mistake of exacting reparation in money and then lending Germany money with which to pay — H.S.Truman

kept a keen eye on her court and exacted prompt and willing obedience from king and archbishops — Henry Adams

III. noun, adverb

- on demand

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.