need to know

phraseC1technical · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

Need to know describes information told only to those whose work requires it. Everybody else is left out on purpose.

It comes from intelligence and military practice, where a need-to-know basis limits how far a secret can spread, and it is a genuine security principle rather than mere secrecy. Businesses have adopted it, sometimes for good reasons and sometimes as an excuse. The hyphenated form goes before a noun. The phrase you do not need to know is one of the most infuriating sentences in English.

Definitions of need to know

1phraseneed to knowRestricted to those whose duties require the information.C1
“The details were shared on a strict need to know basis.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Spying & Secrecy

First appears in chapter 23 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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need to know

phraseC1technical · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

Need to know describes information told only to those whose work requires it. Everybody else is left out on purpose.

Definitions of need to know

1phraseneed to knowRestricted to those whose duties require the information.C1
“The details were shared on a strict need to know basis.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Spying & Secrecy

First appears in chapter 23 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word