Meaning & use
want
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To feel that you would like to have, do or get something.
Grammar: Takes an object or to plus a verb: want a drink, want to leave.
Patterns
- want something
- want to do something
- want someone to do something
I want a glass of water, please.
She wants to become a pilot when she grows up.
Do you want me to wait for you?
verbtransitiveinformalBritish
To need something, or to be advised to do something; used mainly in informal British English.
Grammar: Informal British use: the car wants washing means the car needs washing.
Patterns
- want doing
- want to do something
The lawn really wants cutting this week.
You want to see a doctor about that cough.
That old sofa wants replacing.
noununcountableformal
A lack of something that is needed or hoped for.
Grammar: Often appears in the phrase for want of something.
Patterns
- for want of something
- a want of something
The picnic was canceled for want of sunshine.
The project failed through want of money.
There was no want of volunteers on the day.
noununcountableformal
The state of being poor and without enough food or money.
Grammar: Used without an article: live in want.
Patterns
- freedom from want
- live in want
Many families lived in want during the long winter.
The charity aims to free children from want.
She grew up in want but never lost her kindness.
Word forms
| third person singular | wants |
|---|---|
| past tense | wanted |
| past participle | wanted |
| -ing form | wanting |
Common combinations
- badly want
- I badly want to see the sea again.
- want someone to do something
- My parents want me to study medicine.
- for want of
- For want of a better idea, we went home.
- want for nothing
- The children want for nothing in their new home.
- all you could want
- The hotel has all you could want in a place to relax.
- just what someone wants
- This soup is just what I want today.
Synonyms and how they differ
- desire
- Desire is more formal and stronger, often suggesting deep longing, while want is plain and everyday.
- wish
- Wish often refers to something unlikely or not currently possible, whereas want expresses a direct desire.
- crave
- Crave describes a very strong, almost physical need, such as craving sugar, and is more intense than want.
- fancy
- Fancy is a British informal word for a mild liking, as in fancy a coffee, and sounds lighter than want.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: want or wont? want or won't?
want vs wont
Wont is a formal word meaning accustomed or habit, as in as was his wont, and it is a different word from want.
want vs won't
Won't is the short form of will not, so it sounds similar to want but is a negative modal construction.
Practice
Which sentence uses want correctly?
Choose one answer.
Want someone to do something is the usual pattern. The other options use a that clause, an -ing form or a bare verb, none of which is idiomatic after want.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “want”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.