need-not

noun

Something that is not needed or is excessive.

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Meanings

nounneed-not (plural need-nots)

plural need-nots

  1. obsoleteSomething that is not needed or is excessive.

    They implanted desires for need-nots and luxuries, and unscrupulously inflamed them.

    2013, Alvin Jackson, The Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish History
    1 more example

    Such abundance must be laid out on superfluous recreations, buildings, ornaments, furniture, equipage, attendants, entertainments, visitations, braveries, and a world of need-nots […]

    1673, Baxter's Practical Works, Vol. I
Cite this entry
APA

need-not. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/need-not

MLA

“need-not.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/need-not. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “need-not,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/need-not.

Source: need-not on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.