want

v., want·ed, want·ing, wants.

v.tr.

1. 1. To desire greatly; wish for: They want to leave. She wants a glass of water. See synonyms at desire.
   2. To desire (someone to do something): I want you to clean your room.
2. 1. To request the presence or assistance of: You are wanted by your office.
   2. To seek with intent to capture: The fugitive is wanted by the police.
3. To have an inclination toward; like: Say what you want, but be tactful.
4. Informal. To be obliged (to do something): You want to be careful on the ice.
5. To be without; lack. See synonyms at lack.
6. To be in need of; require: "'Your hair wants cutting,' said the Hatter" (Lewis Carroll).

v.intr.

1. To have need: wants for nothing.
2. To be destitute or needy.
3. To be disposed; wish: Call me daily if you want.

n.

1. The condition or quality of lacking something usual or necessary: stayed home for want of anything better to do.
2. Pressing need; destitution: lives in want.
3. Something desired: a person of few wants and needs.
4. A defect of character; a fault.

phrasal verbs:

want in Slang.

1. To desire greatly to enter: The dog wants in.
2. To wish to join a project, business, or other undertaking.

want out Slang.

1. To desire greatly to leave: The cat wants out.
2. To wish to leave a project, a business, or other undertaking.

[Middle English wanten, to be lacking, from Old Norse vanta.]

wanter want'er n.

USAGE NOTE   When want meaning "desire" is followed immediately by an infinitive construction, it does not take for: I want you to go When want and the infinitive are separated by a word or phrase, however, for is used: What I want is for you to go. I want very much for you to go. Want in its meaning of "have need, lack" normally takes for: They'll not want for anything now that they've inherited his estate. See Usage Notes at wish.

verb

1. To have a strong longing for: ache, covet, desire, hanker, long², pant, pine, wish, yearn. Informal hone². See desire.
2. To be without what is needed, required, or essential: lack, need, require. See owned/unowned.
3. To have the desire or inclination to: choose, desire, like¹, please, will, wish. Idioms: have a mind, see fit. See desire.

noun

1. The condition of lacking a needed or usual amount: absence, dearth, lack. See excess/insufficiency/enough.
2. The condition of being extremely poor: beggary, destitution, impecuniosity, impecuniousness, impoverishment, indigence, need, neediness, pennilessness, penuriousness, penury, poverty, privation. See rich/poor.
3. Something asked for or needed: demand, exigence, exigency (often used in plural), need. See necessary/unnecessary, over/under.

Idioms beginning with want:
want for nothing

See also waste not, want not.

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n

Definition: desire
Antonyms: disinterest, dislike, hate

n

Definition: lack, need
Antonyms: abundance, plenty

v

Definition: desire
Antonyms: despise, disinterest, dislike, hate

v

Definition: lack, need
Antonyms: have

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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The absence or deficiency of what is needed or desired.

Want of jurisdiction, for example, is a lack of authority to exercise in a particular manner a power possessed by a tribunal or board.

IN BRIEF: A specific feeling of desire.

I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance. — George Balanchine (1904-1983).

Quotes:

"How badly do you want it?" - George E. Allen

"I have found that most of the things I want from living I must get from people." - Robert Conklin

"Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one." - Benjamin Franklin

"Our necessities never equal our wants." - Benjamin Franklin

"Make sure you want it enough." - Frank Kingdon

See more famous quotes about Want

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of want to

• wanna

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - vil, ønske, behøve, trænge til, mangle, have brug for, lide nød
v. intr. - ønske sig
n. - behov, ønske, savn, mangel, trang, nød, fornødenheder

idioms:

• for want of    i behov af
• from want of    i mangel af
• is wanted    er ønsket
• want ad    efterlysningsannonce, rubrikannonce
• want out    vil ud af noget

Nederlands (Dutch)
willen, verlangen, ontberen, nodig hebben, gebrek, wens

Français (French)
v. tr. - vouloir, avoir besoin, demander, vouloir (qn)
v. intr. - manquer de
n. - besoin, indigence (littér), défaut, à défaut de/faute de

idioms:

• be wanted    être recherché (par la police), être demandé (au téléphone)
• for want of    à défaut de, faute de
• want ad    (US) petite annonce
• want in    vouloir entrer, vouloir participer
• want out    vouloir sortir, vouloir laisser tomber

Deutsch (German)
v. - wollen, benötigen, ermangeln, suchen (Polizei), Not leiden
n. - Mangel, Not, Bedürfnis

idioms:

• be wanted    wird (polizeilich) gesucht, ist gewünscht
• for want of    aus Mangel an
• want ad    Kaufgesuch
• want in    (AmE) reinwollen
• want out    rauswollen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - θέλω, χρειάζομαι, ζητώ (την παρουσία κάποιου), επιθυμώ, επιζητώ, στερούμαι, (ως απρόσ.) θέλει, λείπει
n. - έλλειψη, στέρηση, ανάγκη, φτώχεια

idioms:

• for want of    από έλλειψη
• from want of    λόγω έλλειψης
• is wanted    καταζητείται
• want ad    (ΗΠΑ) μικρή αγγελία
• want out    θέλω να βγω ή να ξεφύγω

Italiano (Italian)
volere, miseria, mancanza

idioms:

• for want of    per mancanza di
• from want of    per mancanza di
• is wanted    è ricercato
• want ad    avviso di acquisto
• want out    non volerne più sapere

Português (Portuguese)
v. - faltar, desejar
n. - necessidade (f), falta (f)

idioms:

• for want of    por falta de
• from want of    a partir da falta de
• is wanted    procura-se
• want ad    anúncio na seção "precisa-se"
• want out    querer sair

Русский (Russian)
хотеть, нуждаться, хотеть видеть (кого-л), разыскивать, быть необходимым, нехватка (чего-л.), бедность, потребность

idioms:

• for want of    из-за недостатка, отсутствия (чего-л.), за неимением (чего-л.)
• from want of    из-за недостатка, отсутствия (чего-л.), за неимением (чего-л.)
• is wanted    разыскивается
• want ad    частное объявление (в газете)
• want out    хотеть выйти

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - querer, desear, necesitar, carecer de
v. intr. - estar necesitado (de), estar privado (de), querer (ir en alguna dirección)
n. - falta, carencia, necesidad, privación, anhelo, deseo

idioms:

• be wanted    buscado, requerido, hacer falta, ser requerida su presencia, ser llamado (al teléfono, etc.)
• for want of    por falta de, a falta de
• want ad    anuncio clasificado, aviso, oferta o demanda (en un periódico)
• want in    falto de, carente de
• want out    querer ir, querer salir

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - önska, vilja, behöva, sakna
n. - brist, behov, önskan

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
要, 必须, 希望, 需要, 缺少, 缺乏, 贫困

idioms:

• for want of    因缺乏
• from want of    因缺乏...
• is wanted    被通缉的, 被征求的
• want ad    招聘广告, 征求广告
• want out    解除

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 要, 必須, 希望
v. intr. - 需要, 缺少
n. - 缺乏, 需要, 貧困

idioms:

• for want of    因缺乏
• from want of    因缺乏...
• is wanted    被通緝的, 被徵求的
• want ad    招聘廣告, 徵求廣告
• want out    解除

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - ~을 원하다, ~하고 싶다, ~이 필요하다
v. intr. - 바라다, 모자라다, 옹색하다
n. - 필요, 욕구, 부족

idioms:

• want out    가고 싶어하다, 한 패에서 빠지고 싶어하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 欲する, 望む, 不足する, 足りない, 欠けている, 生活に困る, 用がある, 捜し求めている, 必要とする, …すべきである
adj. - 必要である, すべきである
n. - 不足, 欠乏, 困窮, 必要, 必要な物, 必需品, 欲しい物

idioms:

• for want of    不足のために
• from want of    不足のため
• is wanted    指名手配されている
• want ad    求人広告
• want no part of    断る
• want out    出たがる, 免れようとする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يريد, يرغب, يحتاج إلى, يتطلب, يلاحق, يطارد, يتوق (الاسم) عدم, نقيصه, ضعف, فقر, رغبه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮רצה, חפץ, היה זקוק ל-, הצריך, חייב, דרש‬
v. intr. - ‮רצה להיות ב-, חסר, היה חסר, היה נטול-, היה נעדר-‬
n. - ‮רצון, מחסור, חוסר, צורך, עוני, דלות, מבוקש (חשוד בעבירה)‬

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