demand
Americanverb (used with object)
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to ask for with proper authority; claim as a right.
He demanded payment of the debt.
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to ask for peremptorily or urgently.
He demanded sanctuary. She demanded that we let her in.
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to call for or require as just, proper, or necessary.
This task demands patience. Justice demands objectivity.
- Synonyms:
- exact
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Law.
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to lay formal legal claim to.
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to summon, as to court.
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verb (used without object)
noun
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the act of demanding.
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something that is demanded.
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an urgent or pressing requirement.
demands upon one's time.
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Economics.
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the desire to purchase, coupled with the power to do so.
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the quantity of goods that buyers will take at a particular price.
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a requisition; a legal claim.
The demands of the client could not be met.
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the state of being wanted or sought for purchase or use.
an article in great demand.
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Archaic. inquiry; question.
idioms
verb
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to request peremptorily or urgently
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to require or need as just, urgent, etc
the situation demands attention
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to claim as a right; exact
his parents demanded obedience of him
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law to make a formal legal claim to (property, esp realty)
noun
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an urgent or peremptory requirement or request
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something that requires special effort or sacrifice
a demand on one's time
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the act of demanding something or the thing demanded
the kidnappers' demand was a million pounds
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an insistent question or query
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economics
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willingness and ability to purchase goods and services
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the amount of a commodity that consumers are willing and able to purchase at a specified price Compare supply 1
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law a formal legal claim, esp to real property
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sought after; popular
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as soon as requested
a draft payable on demand
Synonym Usage
Demand, claim, require imply making an authoritative request. To demand is to ask in a bold, authoritative way: to demand an explanation. To claim is to assert a right to something: He claimed it as his due. To require is to ask for something as being necessary; to compel: The Army requires absolute obedience of its soldiers.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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counterdemandnoun
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demandernoun
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superdemandnoun
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overdemandverb
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predemandverb (used with object)
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demandableadjective
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undemandedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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demandsimple
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demandssimple
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have demandedperfect
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has demandedperfect
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am demandingprogressive
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are demandingprogressive
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is demandingprogressive
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have been demandingperfect progressive
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has been demandingperfect progressive
Past
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demandedsimple
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had demandedperfect
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was demandingprogressive
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were demandingprogressive
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had been demandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demand
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English demaunden, from Anglo-French demaunder, from Medieval Latin dēmandāre “to demand,” Latin “to entrust,” equivalent to dē- negative prefix + mandāre “to commission, order”; see de-, mandate
Explanation
Demand means "an urgent request," like your demand that teachers give no homework on the weekend, or the act of making the request — teachers who demand that the work get done, even if it's the weekend. Demand comes from the Old French word demander, meaning "ask, make inquiry." A demand is a lot stronger than that, however. When you demand something, you want action now. A demand can also mean "to require" like cold weather that demands warm coats and boots. Demand is also an economic term, meaning "the amount of an item that can be sold," like the demand for those snow boots: high in winter and nonexistent in summer.
Vocabulary lists containing demand
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The opening settlement demand by Roh: half of Chey’s assets, which are mostly held in stock of the SK conglomerate’s holding company that also has recently ballooned in value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Within mainland China, the debate continues, with much of the conversation centred around creating awareness to demand laws against animal cruelty.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
That was slightly ahead of the $28.8 billion consensus view and “fueled by longer customer commitments and skyrocketing demand from our partner ecosystem,” McDermott said in a press release.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
The higher prices are caused by soaring costs of memory chips, which are in growing demand owing to their strategic role in powering artificial intelligence.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
It was precisely the third time he’d erupted through the door and the third time, he was certain, that Gingersnipes would shriek and spill something and demand he quit doing that.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The group, which plans to be at Anthropic’s headquarters every day until their demands are met, and others have been pushing for companies to pause new AI model training.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Per the act, the FDA was ordered by Congress to establish traceability standards for high-risk foods, but the food industry pushed back, asking for additional time to comply with recordkeeping and coordination demands, citing complexity.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ranka, who met senior minister JP Nadda on Monday, said the government had yet to respond to their demands.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Diplomats are in a tough spot given the mutually exclusive demands of the U.S. and Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
She is constantly making demands on Ann: Heat some water, wash these clothes, get supper on the table.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
CPUs are essential for running inference workloads demanded by agentic AI, but there are various wild cards to consider.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“The Commission had not demanded early renewal in over five decades,” Disney’s WABC-TV station, based in New York, wrote in a May filing with the commission.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
At the Kyiv protests, Starodubtseva, her face framed by a few locks of pink hair, also demanded Syrsky's dismissal, holding him responsible for the death of her husband.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
After the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and other high-profile police killings, activists demanded that departments adopt the cameras.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
I thought back to when King Barf had demanded the gold from me.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
More than 4,500 Google workers signed a petition demanding protections such as voluntary exit packages and guaranteed severance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
The U.S.’s Justice Department closed an investigation into the planned deal in June without challenging the transaction or demanding concessions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Novo Nordisk sent a cease-and-desist letter to Eli Lilly in April, demanding that the company suspend the advertising, but said it didn’t receive a response.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The CJP is demanding an overhaul of India's education system, with greater accountability for alleged exam paper leaks.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The patches aren’t fast enough, and before we know it disgruntled men swarm the ticket wagon demanding refunds.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.