"if needs be" meaning in English

See if needs be in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

Audio: en-au-if needs be.ogg
Head templates: {{en-adv|-}} if needs be (not comparable)
  1. (idiomatic) If need be; if there is a need. Tags: idiomatic, not-comparable Synonyms: if need be
    Sense id: en-if_needs_be-en-adv-D~PR5RSr Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "if needs be (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "April 20, 1964, Nelson Mandela, speech at trial\nI have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If need be; if there is a need."
      ],
      "id": "en-if_needs_be-en-adv-D~PR5RSr",
      "links": [
        [
          "If need be",
          "if need be"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) If need be; if there is a need."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "if need be"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-if needs be.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/ef/En-au-if_needs_be.ogg/En-au-if_needs_be.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/En-au-if_needs_be.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "if needs be"
}
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "if needs be (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adverbs",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English uncomparable adverbs",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "April 20, 1964, Nelson Mandela, speech at trial\nI have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If need be; if there is a need."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "If need be",
          "if need be"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) If need be; if there is a need."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-if needs be.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/ef/En-au-if_needs_be.ogg/En-au-if_needs_be.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/En-au-if_needs_be.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "if need be"
    }
  ],
  "word": "if needs be"
}

Download raw JSONL data for if needs be meaning in English (1.3kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.