What does want mean?
Want is a common English verb with two principal meanings. In its most frequent use, it expresses desire: a speaker wants a person, object, experience, or outcome. The second meaning is lack or need, as when something wants repair or a person wants food. A closely related use means that a situation requires a particular response, often in the formal pattern “the situation wants caution.” Want is flexible in tone and is indispensable in everyday speech, although direct constructions such as “I want that” may sound more demanding in formal settings than “I would like that.” The word also survives as a literary or legal noun meaning a deficiency or lack. Its history is unusually revealing: its Old English ancestor primarily described being in want, and the sense of wishing for something developed alongside and later from that idea. The result is a compact word that can move easily from personal desire to practical necessity.
To have a strong desire or wish for something; also, to lack or need something required.
"The visitors wanted clearer instructions before continuing."
The need or lack sense is especially common in constructions such as “want washing” and “wants a reply.”
A lack or deficiency, especially a lack of something considered necessary.
"There was a want of food in the village."
This noun is mainly literary, archaic, or legal rather than everyday.
The plural is rare in modern use but may refer to separate lacks or needs.
"The report identified several wants in the existing system."
Want began in Old English as a word for being short—not for wishing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How want is actually used
Want is neutral in most contexts, although a direct request with “I want” can sound blunt in formal situations, where “I would like” may be softer. The noun is literary, archaic, or legal in tone.
Easily confused with want
Want means to wish for or lack something, whereas wont means habitually doing or being something.
Want is pronounced with an initial /w/ sound, while won is pronounced /wʌn/ and means past tense of win.