English Online Dictionary. What means needs? What does needs mean?
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /niːdz/
- (General American) IPA(key): /nidz/
- Rhymes: -iːdz
Etymology 1
From Middle English nedes (“of necessity, necessarily; inevitably, unavoidably”) [and other forms], from Old English nēdes, nīedes (“of necessity; not willingly”), from nīed + -es (suffix forming adverbs from nouns).
The English word is equivalent to need + -'s (possessive marker) and hence to need + -s (suffix forming adverbs).
Adverb
needs (not comparable)
- (archaic) Either directly or indirectly preceded or followed by an auxiliary verb, often must: of necessity or need; necessarily, indispensably.
Alternative forms
- needes (obsolete)
Derived terms
- must needs, needs must
- needs-cost
- needs must when the devil drives
Translations
Etymology 2
From need + -s.
Noun
needs
- plural of need
Etymology 3
From need + -s.
Verb
needs
- third-person singular simple present indicative of need
Usage notes
- When need is used as a modal verb, no -s is added in the third-person singular, just as no -s is added to the other modal verbs, for example “she need not [instead of needs not] go to school today”.
References
Anagrams
- Denes, Edens, Sneed, denes, dense, edens, sende, sneed