Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense wants, present participle wanting, past tense, past participle wanted
1. verb [no cont, no passive]
If you want something, you feel a desire or a need for it.
I want a drink. [VERB noun]
Ian knows exactly what he wants in life. [VERB noun]
People wanted to know who this talented designer was. [VERB to-infinitive]
They began to want their father to be the same as other daddies. [VERB noun to-infinitive]
They didn't want people staring at them as they sat on the lawn, so they put up highwalls. [VERB noun verb-ing]
He wanted his power recognised. [VERB noun -ed]
I want my car this colour. [VERB noun noun]
And remember, we want him alive. [V n adj/prep]
2. verb [no cont, no passive]
You can say that you wantto say something to indicate that you are about to say it.
I want to say how really delighted I am that you're having a baby. [VERB to-infinitive]
Look, I wanted to apologize for today. I think I was a little hard on you. [VERB to-infinitive]
3. verb [no cont, no passive]
You use want in questions as a way of making an offer or inviting someone to do something.
Do you want another cup of coffee? [VERB noun]
Do you want to leave your bike here? [VERB to-infinitive]
Synonyms: feel like, desire, fancy, feel the need for More Synonyms of want
4. verb [no cont, no passive]
If you say to someone that you want something, or ask them if they wantto do it, you are firmly telling them what you want or what you want them to do.
I want an explanation from you, Jeremy. [VERB noun]
If you have a problem with that, I want you to tell me right now. [VERB noun to-infinitive]
Do you want to tell me what all this is about? [VERB to-infinitive]
I want my money back! [VERB noun adverb/preposition]
5. verb [no cont, no passive]
If you say that something wants doing, you think that it needs to be done.
[mainly British, informal]
The windows wanted cleaning. [V -ing]
Her hair wants cutting. [VERB verb-ing]
6. verb [no cont, no passive]
If you tell someone that they wantto do a particular thing, you are advising them to do it.
[informal]
You want to be very careful not to have a man like Crevecoeur for an enemy. [VERB to-infinitive]
You want to look where you're going, mate. [VERB to-infinitive]
Synonyms: should, need, must, ought More Synonyms of want
7. verb [usually passive]
If someone is wanted by the police, the police are searching for them because they are thought to have committed a crime.
They were wanted by the police. [beVERB-ed]
He has killed many in his time, and is wanted in at least three countries. [beVERB-ed]
He was wanted for the murder of a magistrate. [beVERB-ed + for]
wantedadjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
He is one of the most wanted criminals in Europe.
8. verb
If you want someone, you have a great desire to have sex with them.
Come on, darling. I want you. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: desire, fancy [informal], long for, crave More Synonyms of want
9. verb
If a child is wanted, its mother or another person loves it and is willing to look after it.
Children should be wanted and planned. [beVERB-ed]
I want this baby very much, because it certainly will be the last. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: love, prize, treasure, adore More Synonyms of want
10. verb [no cont]
If someone wants you in a particular place or role, they desire you to be in that place or role.
Albie wants you in his office. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
They didn't want her as attorney general. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
This is my territory. I want you out of here. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]
11. singular noun
A want of something is a lack of it.
[formal]
...a want of manners and charm. [+ of]
The men were daily becoming weaker from want of rest.
Synonyms: lack, need, absence, shortage More Synonyms of want
12. uncountable noun
Want is the state of being extremely poor.
[formal]
He said they were fighting for freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and freedomfrom want.
Synonyms: poverty, need, hardship, privation [formal] More Synonyms of want
13. plural noun [usually with poss]
Your wants are the things that you want.
She couldn't lift a spoon without a servant anticipating her wants and getting itfor her.
Supermarkets often claim that they are responding to the wants of consumers. [+ of]
14.
See for want of
15.
See if you want
16.
See I don't want to/without wanting to
17.
See what do you want?
Phrasal verbs:
See want out
More Synonyms of want
want in British English1
(wɒnt)
verb
1. (transitive)
to feel a need or longing for
I want a new hat
2. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive)
to wish, need, or desire (something or to do something)
he wants to go home
3. (intransitive; usually used with a negative and often foll byfor)
to be lacking or deficient (in something necessary or desirable)
the child wants for nothing
4. (transitive)
to feel the absence of
lying on the ground makes me want my bed
5. (transitive)
to fall short by (a specified amount)
6. (transitive) mainly British
to have need of or require (doing or being something)
your shoes want cleaning
7. (intransitive)
to be destitute
8. (tr; often passive)
to seek or request the presence of
you're wanted upstairs
9. (intransitive)
to be absent
10. (tr; takes an infinitive) informal
should or ought (to do something)
you don't want to go out so late
11. want in
12. want out
noun
13.
the act or an instance of wanting
14.
anything that is needed, desired, or lacked
to supply someone's wants
15.
a lack, shortage, or absence
for want of common sense
16.
the state of being in need; destitution
the state should help those in want
17.
a sense of lack; craving
Derived forms
wanter (ˈwanter)
noun
Word origin
C12 (vb, in the sense: it is lacking), C13 (n): from Old Norse vanta to be deficient; related to Old English wanian to wane
want in British English2
(wɒnt)
noun
English dialect
a mole
Word origin
Old English wand
want in American English
(wɑnt; wɔnt)
verb transitive
1.
to have too little of; be deficient in; lack
2.
to be short by (a specified amount)
it wants twelve minutes of midnight
3.
to feel the need of; long for; crave
to want adventure
4.
to desire; wish or long
followed by the infinitive
to want to travel
5.
a.
to wish to see or speak with (someone)
wanted on the phone
b.
to wish to apprehend, as for questioning or arrest
wanted by the police
6. Chiefly British
to require; need
this wants attending to
verb intransitive
7.
to have a need or lack
usually with for
to want for money
8.
to lack the necessities of life; be destitute or impoverished
“Waste not, want not”
9. Rare
to be lacking or missing for completeness or a certain result
there wants but his approval
noun
10.
the state or fact of lacking, or having too little of, something needed or desired; scarcity; shortage; lack
to suffer from want of adequate care
11.
a lack of the necessities of life; poverty; destitution
to live in want
12.
a wish or desire for something; craving
13.
something needed or desired but lacking; need
SIMILAR WORDS: deˈsire, lack, ˈpoverty
Idioms:
want in (or out or off, etc.)
Derived forms
wanter (ˈwanter)
noun
Word origin
ME wanten < ON vanta, to be lacking, want < vant, neut. of vanr, deficient < IE base *(e)wā-, to lack > L vanus, empty
Examples of 'want' in a sentence
want
Ministers talk a good game about wanting more affordable houses.
The Sun (2016)
We actually really want to help each other.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
You need to grow slowly but nobody wants to do anything slowly now.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
We all want to get something big and we are working for it.
The Sun (2016)
We want to make it that bit more interesting.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They want to see players show how much it means to score a goal.
The Sun (2016)
Tell your wife you want to feel special again and you want to try harder to make her feel loved.
The Sun (2016)
If you want financial freedom in your final decades, you are going to have to do it yourself.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Brake wants the police to test whether the screens are used before accidents, as they do for mobile phones.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He said'fine clothes are good only as they supply the want of other means of procuring respect '.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You need that burning desire to want to play in front of more and more people.
The Sun (2015)
He wanted to do good in the world.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They want more police in their streets.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
She presently informed him that they were not often in want of medical aid in that house.
George Eliot Middlemarch (1872)
Buy anything you want with a balloon payment.
Christianity Today (2000)
We want people to get out safely.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
You really want people to feel that they are the first to use them.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
They wanted more freedom to explore and to see their wives and families.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
We want to make sure this is used for energy.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The big corporations have moved to supply what people want at a lower cost.
David Boyle AUTHENTICITY: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life (2003)
Does he want us to see him or is he hiding?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
She says that she wants to see her father.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We want to know now if any of the models are correct.
Fisher, David E. Fire and Ice - the Greenhouse Effect, Ozone Depletion, and Nuclear Winter (1990)
We will always need and want more military muscle than we can afford.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
You can tell they really want to talk.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We had both finished touring our solo albums and wanted to do something together.
The Sun (2014)
That means that you cannot show a bigger desire of wanting a player.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But what if you want to do good as well?
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The furious pilots are seeking legal advice and some are understood to want a police investigation.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
How often they want to play me is another thing.
The Sun (2006)
The guys will want to get out there and finish it off.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We all want that feeling of discovery.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Their attitude was you could do anything you wanted to do in life if you grafted for it.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But he said: 'I always want new challenges.
The Sun (2013)
In other languages
want
British English: want /wɒnt/ VERB
If you want something, you would like to have it.
American English: want
Arabic: يُريدُ
Brazilian Portuguese: querer
Chinese: 要
Croatian: željeti
Czech: chtít
Danish: ønske
Dutch: willen
European Spanish: querer
Finnish: haluta
French: vouloir
German: wollen
Greek: θέλω
Italian: volere
Japanese: 欲しい
Korean: 원하다
Norwegian: ønske (seg)
Polish: chcieć
European Portuguese: querer
Romanian: a dori
Russian: хотеть
Latin American Spanish: querer
Swedish: vilja
Thai: ต้องการ
Turkish: istemek
Ukrainian: хотіти
Vietnamese: muốn
All related terms of 'want'
want ad
The want ads in a newspaper or magazine are small advertisements, usually offering things for sale or offering jobs .
want in
to wish to be included in a venture
want knap
a mole hill
want out
If you want out , you no longer want to be involved in a plan, project , or situation that you are part of.
want a job
A job is the work that someone does to earn money.
for want of
If you do something for want of something else, you do it because the other thing is not available or not possible .
if you want
You say if you want when you are making or agreeing to an offer or suggestion in a casual way.
what do you want?
If you say to someone ' what do you want ? ', you are asking them in a rather rude or angry way why they have come to the place where you are or why they want to speak to you.
wantaway
a footballer who wants a transfer to another club
want a relationship
A relationship is a close connection between two people, especially one involving romantic or sexual feelings.
want no part of sth
If you say that you want no part of something, you mean that you do not want to be involved in it at all.
waste not, want not
The expression waste not, want not means that if you do not use too much of something now you will have some left later when you need it.
do you want to bet?/want a bet?
If you reply ' Do you want to bet ? ' or ' Want a bet? ' to someone, you mean you are certain that what they have said is wrong .
want in (or out or off, etc.)
to want to get , go, or come in (or out, off, etc.)
I don't want to/without wanting to
People sometimes say ' I don't want to be rude ', for example, or ' without wanting to be rude' as a way of apologizing or warning you when they are going to say something which might upset , annoy , or worry you.
for want of trying/for lack of trying
If you say that something fails but not for want of trying or not for lack of trying , you mean that everything possible was done to make it succeed .
your day in court have/want one's day in court
Your day in court is your chance to give your side of an argument or other matter .
Chinese translation of 'want'
want
(wɔnt)
vt
(= wish for) 想要 (xiǎng yào)
(inf, = need) 需要 (xūyào)
n(s)
want of (frm, = lack) 缺乏 (quēfá)
to want to do sth想要做某事 (xiǎng yào zuò mǒushì)
to want sb to do sth希望某人做某事 (xīwàng mǒurén zuò mǒushì)
to want sth done要别(別)人把某事做好 (yào biérén bǎ mǒushì zuòhǎo)
your hair wants cutting/washing你的头(頭)发(髮)要剪剪/洗洗了 (nǐ de tóufa yào jiǎnjian/xǐxi le)
you want to be more careful (inf) 你要多加小心 (nǐ yào duō jiā xiǎoxīn)
you're wanted on the phone有你的电(電)话(話) (yǒu nǐ de diànhuà)
he is wanted by the police他被警方通缉(緝) (tā bèi jǐngfāng tōngjī)
"cook wanted""招聘厨(廚)师(師)" ("zhāopìn chúshī")
if you want如果你乐(樂)意的话(話) (rúguǒ nǐ lèyì de huà)
to want out (inf, of deal etc) 想退出 (xiǎng tuìchū)
to want in (inf, on deal etc) 想要加入 (xiǎng yào jiārù)
for want of因为(為)缺乏 (yīnwèi quēfá)
Derived Forms
wantsn pl (= needs) 需求 (xūqiú)
All related terms of 'want'
want of
( frm : lack ) 缺乏 quēfá
for want of
因为(為)缺乏 yīnwèi quēfá
if you want
如果你乐(樂)意的话(話) rúguǒ nǐ lèyì de huà
to want in
( inf : on deal etc ) 想要加入 xiǎng yào jiārù
to want out
( inf : of deal etc ) 想退出 xiǎng tuìchū
I don't want to
我不想 wǒ bù xiǎng
to want sth done
要别(別)人把某事做好 yào biérén bǎ mǒushì zuòhǎo
she doesn't want it
她不想要这(這)个(個) tā bù xiǎng yào zhège
to want to do sth
想要做某事 xiǎng yào zuò mǒushì
what can he want?
他究竟想要什么(麼)？ tā jiūjìng xiǎng yào shénme?
which do you want?
( singular ) 你要哪个(個)？ nǐ yào nǎge?
does anyone want a cake?
有人想要块(塊)蛋糕吗(嗎)？ yǒu rén xiǎng yào kuài dàngāo ma?
tell me which you want
( singular ) 告诉(訴)我你要哪个(個) gàosù wǒ nǐ yào nǎge
to want sb to do sth
希望某人做某事 xīwàng mǒurén zuò mǒushì
to want/need sth badly
非常想要/需要某物 fēicháng xiǎngyào/xūyào mǒuwù
to want/to try to do sth
想/试(試)着(著)做某事 xiǎng/shìzhe zuò mǒushì
which picture do you want?
你要哪幅画(畫)？ nǐ yào nǎ fú huà?
do whatever is necessary/you want
做任何必要的/你想做的事情 zuò rènhé bìyào de/nǐ xiǎng zuò de shìqing
you want to be more careful
( inf ) 你要多加小心 nǐ yào duō jiā xiǎoxīn
I didn't want to hurt your feelings
我并(並)不想伤(傷)害你的感情 wǒ bìng bù xiǎng shānghài nǐ de gǎnqíng