v. 1 require, demand, want, be in want of, call for, have need of or for; lack, miss, have occasion for This room needs a coat of paint Although she may want more money, she doesn't need it. Do you need anything to make you more comfortable?
n. 2 necessity, requirement; call, demand, constraint There's no need to shout - I can hear you There is a need to keep this matter confidential. This facility will meet our electricity needs for decades. 3 essential, necessary, requisite, prerequisite, necessity, basic, fundamental, sine qua non, necessary, desideratum I am perfectly capable of taking care of my family's needs 4 distress, difficulty, trouble, (dire or desperate) straits, stress, emergency, exigency, extremity, neediness, needfulness; poverty, penury, impecuniousness, destitution, privation, deprivation, indigence, beggary She was very supportive in his hour of need The need of the people in that district is heart-rending. 5 want, lack, dearth, shortage, paucity, scarcity, insufficiency, desideratum The need for medical supplies was most sharply felt in areas that were already ravaged by famine