DictionaryAI

require

verb
ri-KWYR/ɹɪˈkwaɪɹ/UKri-KWY-uh/ɹɪˈkwaɪə/

Formsrequires, requiring, required

3 meanings of require

Practice

  1. 1
    needverbtransitive
    To need something as indispensable; to call for something as a natural necessity.

    Newborn babies require almost constant care during their first weeks.

    Steel production requires enormous amounts of energy.

    UsageCan take an -ing form: the wall requires painting, meaning it needs to be painted.

    Similarneed, demand, necessitate, take, involve

  2. 2
    make compulsoryverbtransitive
    To demand something or make it compulsory, or to order someone to do something, especially by a rule or law.

    The landlord requires two months' rent as a security deposit.

    Border agents may require proof of citizenship before letting travelers through.

    UsageCommon patterns: require someone to do something, require something of someone, and the passive be required to.

    Note

    Here the demand can be pointed at the speaker's own comfort or conduct. In Joan Wolf's The Gamble (1998), Miss Newbury announces "I require to be shown to my room immediately," a lofty construction in which a to-infinitive names what she wants done. Vikram Dodd in The Guardian (2009) quotes "the high standard of service I require of myself."

  3. 3
    verbobsolete
    To ask someone for something; to make a request of a person.
    I requyre the in the name of god, that thou torment me nott.
    1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt (Tyndale Bible)
    Note

    Latin requīrō meant "seek, ask for," and this obsolete sense keeps that humbler force. When Malory writes "I requyre yow" and Tyndale's Newe Testament (1526) has "I requyre the in the name of god, that thou torment me nott," the speaker is pleading, not commanding. Modern readers hear the authoritative demand instead, so outside deliberate period pastiche, write ask or request.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Latin requīrō meant seek or ask for. en.wiktionary.org
    • Malory wrote the words I requyre yow in a request. jacklynch.net
    • Tyndale's complete New Testament was first published in 1526. loc.gov
    • The quotation appears with the stated historical spelling in the 1526 Tyndale citation. en.wiktionary.org
    • The passages express requests or pleas rather than authoritative commands. scripture.dbs.org

Practice

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Origin

Latin "requiro" ("I require, seek, or ask for") gave Old French "requerre," which is "requérir" in modern French; English took the word from the Old French.