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/wɑnt/ /wɔnt/ Listen

verb

Want v. t. (past & past part. wanted; pres. part. wanting)

To be without; to be destitute of, or deficient in; not to have; to lack; as, to want knowledge; to want judgment; to want learning; to want food and clothing. "They that want honesty, want anything." "Nor think, though men were none, That heaven would want spectators, God want praise." "The unhappy never want enemies."

To have occasion for, as useful, proper, or requisite; to require; to need; as, in winter we want a fire; in summer we want cooling breezes.

To feel need of; to wish or long for; to desire; to crave. " What wants my son?" "I want to speak to you about something."

Want v. i.

To be absent; to be deficient or lacking; to fail; not to be sufficient; to fall or come short; to lack; often used impersonally with of; as, it wants ten minutes of four. "The disposition, the manners, and the thoughts are all before it; where any of those are wanting or imperfect, so much wants or is imperfect in the imitation of human life."

To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack. "You have a gift, sir (thank your education), Will never let you want." "For as in bodies, thus in souls, we find What wants in blood and spirits, swelled with wind." Note: Want was formerly used impersonally with an indirect object. "Him wanted audience."

noun

Want n.

The state of not having; the condition of being without anything; absence or scarcity of what is needed or desired; deficiency; lack; as, a want of power or knowledge for any purpose; want of food and clothing. "And me, his parent, would full soon devour For want of other prey." "From having wishes in consequence of our wants, we often feel wants in consequence of our wishes." "Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and more saucy."

Specifically, absence or lack of necessaries; destitution; poverty; penury; indigence; need. "Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches, as to conceive how others can be in want."

That which is needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt; what is not possessed, and is necessary for use or pleasure. "Habitual superfluities become actual wants."

(Mining) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place. (Eng.)

Synonyms: Indigence; deficiency; defect; destitution; lack; failure; dearth; scarceness.

See images of 'Want'

Etymology of 'Want'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Want" Quotes from Famous Books

... "What do you want?" he said to me. "Do you not know that I sleep from twelve to six every afternoon? What do you mean by disturbing me? I am sure you would not disturb officers of your own ...

— Across Unknown South America • Arnold Henry Savage Landor

... There is no difficulty on that score. And then you are weakened to that degree that nothing worries you. Things going wrong or remaining neglected about the garden or the stable, which would have annoyed you when well, cannot touch you here. All you want is to lie still and rest. Everything is still. You faintly hear the door-bell ring; and though you live in a quiet country house where that phenomenon rarely occurs, you feel not the least curiosity to know who is there. You can look for a long time quite contentedly at the glow of the ...

— The Recreations of A Country Parson • A. K. H. Boyd

... Trustees, but it is mine; I am a trustee, every student is a trustee of this institution. How can I make every dollar go as far as possible? How can I help cut down expenses here?'" And later on, "I want you to get into the habit of saying: 'This institution belongs to me, belongs to my race; every dollar that is spent here is spent for my benefit and for the benefit of my race; every cent that is wasted ...

— Booker T. Washington - Builder of a Civilization • Emmett J. Scott and Lyman Beecher Stowe

... Canon Fournier at Bayeux, Bessie Fairfax had disconcerted this fine gentleman, but now the tables were turned, and on board the yacht he often disconcerted her—not of malice prepense, but for want of due consideration. No doubt she was a little unformed, ignorant girl, but her intuitive perceptions were quick, and she knew when she was depreciated and misunderstood. On a certain afternoon he read her some beautiful poetry under ...

— The Vicissitudes of Bessie Fairfax • Harriet Parr

... This plant grows only in the tract between Merj and Derna—the very heart of the old silphium country, while that it has medicinal properties is certain from its effects upon animals; there can thus be little doubt that it is the silphium of the ancients, somewhat degenerated, owing to want of cultivation. ...

— The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 5. (of 7): Persia • George Rawlinson

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