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want (iou)



want verb. ME.
[Old Norse vanta be lacking, lack: cf. WANT noun2 and WANE verb.]
verb intrans.
a. Be lacking or missing; be deficient in quantity or degree. arch. exc. Scot. and in be wanting (see WANTING 1a). ME.
b. Be lacking or insufficient to achieve a certain result. Usu. foll. by of or impers. in there wants. ME-M18.
verb trans.
a. Be without, lack; have too little of (esp. a desirable quality); fail to get. ME.
L. Namier He..does not want resolution, but it is mixed with too much obstinacy.
b. Come short by (a certain amount) of attaining a certain result. In later use chiefly impers. in expressions of time. arch. LME.
T. Hardy It..wanted only ten days to the first of November.
c. Be deprived of, lose. L15-E18.
d. Go or do without. Usu. in neg. contexts. obsolete exc. Scot. & dial. M16.
e. Feel the loss of, miss. E17-M18.
f. Be free from (something undesirable). M17-L18.
verb intrans. Be in need; be in a state of poverty or destitution. Now rare exc. Scot. ME.
verb trans. Be in need of; have occasion for, require; need doing; colloq. need or ought to do, to be done. L15.
T. Hardy He wants food and shelter, and you must see that he has it. V. Woolf His manners certainly wanted improving. M. Gee You want to be careful. You're getting obsessed.
verb trans. Desire, wish for; wish to have possession of; wish to do. Now also spec., desire sexually. E18.
P. Gallico My childhood was spent wanting things I couldn't have. G. Swift When I held her in my arms I never wanted to let go.
b. Wish to see or speak to (someone); desire the presence or assistance of (a person); spec. (of the police etc.) require (a person) in connection with some offence. Freq. in pass. M18.
Dickens You're wantedsome one at the door. V. S. Pritchett He is..wanted internationally for theft.
c. Desire (a person) to do or be. Also with adverbs and (esp. US) with clause as obj. M18.
Scott Fitzgerald I want you and Daisy to come over to my house. Encounter You want I should call a doctor, Missus? Times Feelings are running high and the students want him out.
verb intrans. Foll. by in, out, etc.: wish to go in the direction specified. colloq. (orig. Scot. & US). M19.
E. Ambler They can keep everything...We just want out.
With adverbs & prepositions in specialized senses, & phrases: want for suffer from the want of; be ill-provided with; be lacking in (chiefly in neg. context); want for nothing, have no lack of any of the necessities or comforts of life. want in (on) wish to join (a group), take part in (a scheme), etc. (see also sense 6 above). want of lack, be without, have in insufficient measure. want out (of) wish to leave (a group), opt out of (a scheme) etc. (see also sense 6 above). what do you want with ?, what do they want of ?, etc., what is your etc. object in dealing with or wishing to possess ?
wantable adjective desirable, likely to be sought after L20.