demand

Etymology

From late Middle English demaunden, from Old French demander, from Latin dēmandō, dēmandāre.

noun

1. The desire to purchase goods and services.
   Prices usually go up when demand exceeds supply.
   Nevertheless, it is clear that the global energy demand for air-conditioning will grow substantially as nations become more affluent, with the consequences of climate change potentially accelerating the demand. 2013 September-October, Michael Sivak, “Will AC Put a Chill on the Global Energy Supply?”, in American Scientist
2. (economics) The amount of a good or service that consumers are willing to buy at a particular price.
3. A forceful claim for something.
   Modern society is responding to women's demands for equality.
4. A requirement.
   His job makes many demands on his time.
   There is a demand for voluntary health workers in the poorer parts of Africa and Asia.
5. An urgent request.
   She couldn't ignore the newborn baby's demands for attention.
6. An order.
7. (electricity supply) More precisely peak demand or peak load, a measure of the maximum power load of a utility's customer over a short period of time; the power load integrated over a specified time interval.

verb

1. To request forcefully.
   I demand to see the manager.
2. To claim a right to something.
   The bank is demanding the mortgage payment.
   According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle. 2013-06-08, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55
3. To ask forcefully for information.
   I demand an immediate explanation.
4. To require of someone.
   This job demands a lot of patience.
5. (law) To issue a summons to court.