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necessity

UK/nɪˈsɛsəti/US/nɪˈsɛsəti/
nounB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,939 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: necessities

A necessity is something you cannot do without. A basic necessity, out of necessity, necessity is the mother of invention.

In law, necessity is a defence: breaking a rule to prevent a greater harm, and courts allow it narrowly and reluctantly. Necessity is the mother of invention is the proverb, and it is only half true — plenty gets invented by people with time to spare.

Definitions of necessity

  1. 1nounnecessitySomething you cannot do without.B2

    “A car is a necessity if you live in the countryside.”

necessity is a need.

Where it comes from

Latin necessitas comes from necesse, unavoidable, apparently from ne plus cedere, not to give way.

  1. Latin

    necessitās — unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity

  2. Old French

    necessite

  3. Middle English

    necessite

  4. English, today

    necessity

Built from

  • necesse · Latin — unavoidable, inevitable

From Middle English necessite, from Old French necessite, from Latin necessitās (“unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity”), from necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”); see necessary. a doublet of Necessitas.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

necessity in the wild

  • Thus, parents who lack the financial means to feed their children cannot use necessity as a defense if they steal food.

    Necessity (criminal law)

  • Modal logic is a kind of logic used to represent statements about necessity and possibility.

    Modal logic

  • In tort common law, the defense of necessity gives the state or an individual a privilege to take or use the property of another.

    Necessity (tort)

  • Under the principle of military necessity, a decision must be necessary for a legitimate military purpose.

    Military necessity

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the necesse family

necessarynecessarily

necessity — used about once every 1,156 pages · #4,939 · point at the bar for the others