Need crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Need” are CLAIM, EXACT or QUEST, with 5 letters. Below are 29 answers from 3 to 11 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

ASK 3 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper “This job asks a lot of patience and skill”

WANT 4 letters · verb

have need of “This piano wants the attention of a competent tuner”

CLAIM 5 letters · noun

an assertion of a right (as to money or property) “his claim asked for damages”

DEMAND 6 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper “This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice”

REQUIRE 7 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper “success usually requires hard work”

YEARNING 8 letters · noun

prolonged unfulfilled desire or need

POSTULATE 9 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper “This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent”

MOTIVATION 10 letters · noun

the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior “we did not understand his motivation”

NECESSITATE 11 letters · verb

require as useful, just, or proper

Telling them apart

With 5 squares, CLAIM, EXACT, QUEST, SPITE and VENOM all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: C → CLAIM · E → EXACT · Q → QUEST · S → SPITE · V → VENOM. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, DEMAND, MOTIVE, PENURY, HUNGER, THIRST and TAILOR all fit. The fourth letter tells them all apart: A → DEMAND · I → MOTIVE · U → PENURY · G → HUNGER · R → THIRST · L → TAILOR. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 7 squares, REQUIRE, INVOLVE, BENEFIT, REQUEST and LONGING all fit. The sixth letter tells them all apart: R → REQUIRE · V → INVOLVE · I → BENEFIT · S → REQUEST · N → LONGING. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “needed” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “need” means

• noun: a condition requiring relief (“she satisfied his need for affection”)
• noun: anything that is necessary but lacking (“he had sufficient means to meet his simple needs”)
• noun: the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
• noun: a state of extreme poverty or destitution (“a general state of need exists among the homeless”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as NEED, and words whose definition is NEED. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.