need

Etymology 1

From Middle English need, nede, a merger of two terms: * Old English nīed (West Saxon), nēd (Mercian), nēad (“necessity, compulsion, want”), from Proto-West Germanic *naudi, from Proto-Germanic *naudiz, from Proto-Indo-European *neh₂w- (“death”). * Old English nēod (“desire, longing”), from Proto-West Germanic *neud, from Proto-Germanic *neudaz (“wish, urge, desire, longing”), from Proto-Indo-European *new- (“to incline, tend, move, push, nod, wave”).

noun

1. (countable and uncountable) A requirement for something; something needed.
   There's no need to speculate; we can easily find out for sure.
   She grew irritated with his constant need for attention.
   Our needs are not being met.
   I've always tried to have few needs beyond food, clothing and shelter.
   One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.[…]But out of sight is out of mind. And that, together with the inherent yuckiness of the subject, means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair. 2014-06-14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891
2. Lack of means of subsistence; poverty; indigence; destitution.

Etymology 2

From Middle English neden, from Old English nēodian.

verb

1. (transitive) To have an absolute requirement for.
   Living things need water to survive.
   You do not always need to go to the library to study. You may use the Internet.
   Scotland needed a victory by eight points to have a realistic chance of progressing to the knock-out stages, and for long periods of a ferocious contest looked as if they might pull it off. October 1, 2011, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport
2. (transitive) To want strongly; to feel that one must have something.
   After ten days of hiking, I needed a shower and a shave.
   Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal. 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4
3. (modal verb) To be obliged or required (to do something).
   You need not go if you don't want to.
4. (intransitive) To be required; to be necessary.
   Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic who still resists the idea that something drastic needs to happen for him to turn his life around. 2013-06-28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21
5. (obsolete, transitive) To be necessary (to someone).