want to

want

[wont, wawnt]
verb (used with object)
1.
to feel a need or a desire for; wish for: to want one's dinner; always wanting something new.
2.
to wish, need, crave, demand, or desire (often followed by an infinitive): I want to see you. She wants to be notified.
3.
to be without or be deficient in: to want judgment; to want knowledge.
4.
to fall short by (a specified amount): The sum collected wants but a few dollars of the desired amount.
5.
to require or need: The house wants painting.
verb (used without object)
6.
to feel inclined; wish; like (often followed by to ): We can stay home if you want.
7.
to be deficient by the absence of some part or thing, or to feel or have a need (sometimes followed by for ): He did not want for abilities.
8.
to have need (usually followed by for ): If you want for anything, let him know.
9.
to be in a state of destitution, need, or poverty: She would never allow her parents to want.
10.
to be lacking or absent, as a part or thing necessary to completeness: All that wants is his signature.
00:10
Want to is always a great word to know.
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a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
noun
11.
something wanted or needed; necessity: My wants are few.
12.
something desired, demanded, or required: a person of childish, capricious wants.
13.
absence or deficiency of something desirable or requisite; lack: plants dying for want of rain.
14.
the state of being without something desired or needed; need: to be in want of an assistant.
15.
the state of being without the necessaries of life; destitution; poverty: a country where want is virtually unknown.
16.
a sense of lack or need of something: to feel a vague want.
Idioms
17.
want in/out, Chiefly Midland.
a.
to desire to enter or leave: The cat wants in.
b.
Informal. to desire acceptance in or release from something specified: I talked with Louie about our plan, and he wants in.
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English wante < Old Norse vanta to lack

Related forms
want·er, noun
want·less, adjective
want·less·ness, noun
self-want, noun
un·want·ed, adjective

Can be confused: 1. unwanted, unwonted ; 2. want, wont.

Synonyms
1. require, crave. See wish. 3. need. See lack. 11. desideratum. 13. dearth, scarcity, scarceness, inadequacy, insufficiency, paucity, meagerness. 15. privation, penury, indigence. See poverty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To want to
Collins
World English Dictionary
want1 (wɒnt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb (usually used with a negative and often foll by for)
1.  (tr) 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.  to be lacking or deficient (in something necessary or desirable): the child wants for nothing
4.  (tr) to feel the absence of: lying on the ground makes me want my bed
5.  (tr) to fall short by (a specified amount)
6.  chiefly (Brit) (tr) to have need of or require (doing or being something): your shoes want cleaning
7.  (intr) to be destitute
8.  (tr; often passive) to seek or request the presence of: you're wanted upstairs
9.  (intr) to be absent
10.  informal (tr; takes an infinitive) should or ought (to do something): you don't want to go out so late
11.  informal want in to wish to be included in a venture
12.  informal want out to wish to be excluded from a venture
 
—n
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
 
[C12 (vb, in the sense: it is lacking), C13 (n): from Old Norse vanta to be deficient; related to Old English wanian to wane]
 
'wanter1
 
—n

want2 (wɒnt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
dialect (English) a mole
 
[Old English wand]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

want
c.1200, "to be lacking," from O.N. vanta "to lack, want," earlier *wanaton, from P.Gmc. *wanen, from PIE *we-no-, from base *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (see vain). The meaning "desire, wish for" is first recorded 1706. Wanted "sought by the police" was originally slang, in use by 1812.

want
c.1300, "deficiency, shortage," from O.N. vant, neut. of vanr "wanting, deficient;" related to O.E. wanian "to diminish" (see wane). Phrase for want of is recorded from c.1400. Meaning "state of destitution" is recorded from mid-14c. Newspaper want ad is recorded from 1897.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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