needs

Either directly or indirectly preceded or followed by an auxiliary verb, often must: of necessity or need; necessarily, indispensably.

Adverb

  1. Either directly or indirectly preceded or followed by an auxiliary verb, often must: of necessity or need; necessarily, indispensably.
    • As touching corporal puniſhments and penance, as faſting, diſciplin, hare cloth and other chaſtiſements, it behoueth thee herein to vſe good diſcretiõ, taking ſuch as help to repreſſe the aſſaults and temptations of the...
    • To haue no Schreene between this part he plaid, / And him he plaid it for, he needes will be / Abſolute Millaine,[…] - 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies,...
    • For they both ſay and beleeue that this picture hath ſo great vertue, as alſo that of Padua, whereof I haue before ſpoken, that whenſoeuer it is carried abroad in a ſolemne proceſſion in the time of a great drougth, it...

Origin

From Middle English nedes (“of necessity, necessarily; inevitably, unavoidably”) [and other forms], from Old English nēdes, nīedes (“of necessity; not willingly”), from nīed + -es (suffix forming adverbs from nouns). The English word is equivalent to need + -'s (possessive marker) and hence to need + -s (suffix forming adverbs).

Forms

needes

Derived

must needs needs must needs-cost needsly needs must when the devil drives

Noun

  1. plural of need

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of need