if need be

English

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

if need be

Where it comes from

Need is a noun, be a subjunctive. Perhaps an alteration of Old English phrases like ġif þearf bēo, literally "if need be". That phrase would have been completely unidiomatic, equivalent to "if a need exists" or "if there is a need". This is because (1) Old English had no indefinite article, (2) the word for "to be" was also the default word for "to exist" and translates the modern phrase "there is", and (3) the subjunctive mood was much more common and often translates the Modern English indicative.

adverb if needs be

idiomatic If necessary; if there is a need. And I am quite sure that Max Carrados won't walk in here without making it certain that if he doesn't soon come out again the C.I.D. will smash down the door if need be to find out what has happened.

Translations

Every language

adv if necessary

Español	si es menester
Português	caso necessário (seja), se necessário
Français	si besoin est, si nécessaire, au besoin, en cas de besoin, s'il faut
Deutsch	wenn es sein muss, wenn nötig, notfalls, falls nötig
Italiano	se ci fosse bisogno
Русский	е́сли пона́добится jésli ponádobitsja, в слу́чае необходи́мости v slúčaje neobxodímosti

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"if need be." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/if%20need%20be. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

if need be. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/if%20need%20be

Chicago

"if need be." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/if%20need%20be.

BibTeX

@misc{if_need_be_2026,
  title = {if need be},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/if%20need%20be},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}