Can't be without

The answer

NEED

4 letters. See every clue for this answer on the NEED answer page.

Used 11 times across 9 distinct years; most recently in 2024; first recorded in 1998. It appears in 6 publications in the xd corpus. Frequency and last-seen figures come from the xd crossword corpus only.

Other clues for NEED

Every other clue in this collection answered by NEED, most used first.

• Require - used 321 times, most recently in 2026
• Requirement - used 261 times, most recently in 2026
• Have to have - used 230 times, most recently in 2026
• Must have - used 172 times, most recently in 2026
• Call for - used 98 times, most recently in 2026
• Exigency - used 79 times, most recently in 2015
• Can't do without - used 70 times, most recently in 2026
• Requisite - used 54 times, most recently in 2026
• Lack - used 51 times, most recently in 2026
• More than want - used 41 times, most recently in 2026
• Poverty - used 41 times, most recently in 2026
• Cry out for - used 39 times, most recently in 2025
• Penury - used 37 times, most recently in 2013
• Can't live without - used 35 times, most recently in 2025
• Want - used 34 times, most recently in 2016
• Scholarship criterion - used 33 times, most recently in 2026
• Sine qua non - used 31 times, most recently in 2026
• "___ I say more?" - used 30 times, most recently in 2026
• Desideratum - used 29 times, most recently in 2015
• Necessity - used 28 times, most recently in 2026
• Obligation. - used 26 times, most recently in 2024
• Demand - used 24 times, most recently in 2026
• Financial aid criterion - used 23 times, most recently in 2024
• Indigence - used 21 times, most recently in 2004
• Not just want - used 19 times, most recently in 2026
• Scholarship consideration - used 17 times, most recently in 2025
• "___ a lift?" - used 16 times, most recently in 2026
• Essential - used 15 times, most recently in 2025
• Privation - used 15 times, most recently in 2014
• Destitution - used 14 times, most recently in 2016
• On a ___-to-know basis - used 14 times, most recently in 2025
• If ___ be. - used 13 times, most recently in 2011
• Prerequisite - used 13 times, most recently in 2018
• Financial aid factor - used 12 times, most recently in 2025
• Scholarship basis - used 12 times, most recently in 2025
• Shortage - used 12 times, most recently in 2024
• It can be pressing - used 11 times, most recently in 2018
• Scholarship factor - used 11 times, most recently in 2025
• "All You ___ Is Love" - used 10 times, most recently in 2026
• "A friend in ___ . . . " - used 9 times, most recently in 1981
• Absolute must - used 9 times, most recently in 2024
• ___-to-know basis - used 9 times, most recently in 2026
• Essential item - used 8 times, most recently in 2018
• Basis for financial aid - used 7 times, most recently in 2020
• Be lacking in - used 7 times, most recently in 2023
• Food, clothing, or shelter - used 7 times, most recently in 2024
• Gotta have - used 7 times, most recently in 2015
• More than desire - used 7 times, most recently in 2026
• "A friend in __ is..." - used 6 times, most recently in 2022
• Can't forgo - used 6 times, most recently in 2026
• Charity's calculation - used 6 times, most recently in 2013
• Compulsion - used 6 times, most recently in 2013
• Essential thing - used 6 times, most recently in 2023
• Financial aid basis - used 6 times, most recently in 2026
• Grant basis, at times - used 6 times, most recently in 2025
• Grant consideration - used 6 times, most recently in 2025
• Have an opening for - used 6 times, most recently in 2007
• It's a must - used 6 times, most recently in 2025

Related clues

Clues in this collection of the same answer length that share a word with this clue, or match its answer pattern when no word is shared. Most used first.

• Without - SANS, used 275 times
• Without a date - STAG, used 88 times
• Without ice - NEAT, used 77 times
• "This can't be!" - OHNO, used 76 times
• Can't stand - HATE, used 68 times
• Without: Fr. - SANS, used 67 times

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