need
niːd
Need is not a meaning — it is a hole that stops everything until it is filled
The picture There is a hole in the thing that has to move forward, and it stays stopped until the hole is filled. Want is a hand leaning because it would be nice; need is the hole that keeps the thing from rolling at all.
Where the picture shows up in need
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a hole in the paperwork
I need your signature before Friday.
aɪ niːd jʊr ˈsɪɡnətʃər bɪˈfɔːr ˈfraɪdeɪ
I must have your signature by Friday.
One empty box at the bottom of the form keeps the whole file parked on the desk.
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a hole in the body
You need to rest for a few days.
juː niːd tuː rest fɔːr ə fjuː deɪz
Take a few days off your feet.
The doctor taps the chart at the one line that is missing: rest.
Need to + verb points at the action that has to fill the hole.
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a hole in the machine
The printer needs more paper.
ðə ˈprɪntər niːdz mɔːr ˈpeɪpər
The copier is out of paper.
An empty tray lights a red lamp and the machine stands still.
The hole works the same when a thing, not a person, is the subject.
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no hole there at all
You do not need to pay today.
juː duː nɑːt niːd tuː peɪ təˈdeɪ
Nothing to pay today.
Not one box on the bill is waiting to be filled, so the customer walks straight out.
Do not need to says the hole is absent — not that you are forbidden.
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a hole in the roster
We need two more people for the night shift.
wiː niːd tuː mɔːr ˈpiːpəl fɔːr ðə naɪt ʃɪft
The night shift is two people short.
Two empty circles sit in the night column of the schedule.
All of it in one picture
Need is a hole that holds everything still. Leave the signature box empty and the file cannot move off the desk; leave rest out of a body and it cannot mend; leave paper out of the tray and the next page never comes. If there is no hole to fill, you do not need to do it, and two empty circles in the staffing column mean the night shift cannot run.