Want

/wɒnt/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To wish for or desire (something); to feel a need or desire for; to crave, hanker, or demand..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To wish for or desire (something); to feel a need or desire for; to crave, hanker, or demand.
2. (transitive, in particular) To wish, desire, or demand to see, have the presence of or do business with.
3. (intransitive) To desire (to experience desire); to wish.
4. (colloquial, usually second person, often future tense) To be advised to do something (compare should, ought).
5. (transitive, now colloquial) To lack and be in need of or require (something, such as a noun or verbal noun).
6. (transitive, now rare) To have occasion for (something requisite or useful); to require or need.
7. (intransitive, dated) To be lacking or deficient or absent.
8. (intransitive, dated) To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack.

Example Sentences

I want you as a friend, not a foe.

What do you want to eat?  I want you to leave.  I never wanted to go back to live with my mother.

I want to find a supermarket. — Oh, okay. The supermarket is at 1500 Irving Street. It is near the apartment. — Great!

And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.

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.

Ma’am, you are exactly the professional we want for this job.

Danish police want him for embezzlement.

But now it's different, if the police want him for murder.

Synonyms for want

Antonyms for want

Related Words

Word Forms

• wants
• wanting
• wanted
• no-table-tags
• glossary
• want
• wantest
• wantedst
• wanteth
• -
• waunt

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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