to want for nothing
5
4.2
- idiom
:
no necesitar nada
- Once they moved to the new house, they wanted for nothing and enjoyed a life of comfort.
- we want for nothing now
It wants for nothing and it's just great.
- It wants for nothing and it's just great.
Examples
-
I want for nothing.
-
As long as I have Proust, I want for nothing.
Fiction book (1995) -
And you will want for nothing, ever again.
-
Born with everything, want for nothing.
-
Your boy will want for nothing.
-
Your child will want for nothing.
-
I shall see you want for nothing.
-
We wanted for nothing on that island, and it was all there just for the two of us.
Fiction book (1996) -
You shall want for nothing.
Fiction book (1994) -
Indeed, the athletes seem to want for nothing.
Academic text (1994)
Antonyms
How Wealthy
5
4.2
520
2.5
33
3.4
107
2.9
194
1.3
20
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'want' (here meaning 'be without'), 'for' (linking the object), and 'nothing' so the overall sense 'lack nothing / have everything' can be derived if the learner knows the less frequent sense of 'want' = 'be without'. However, because many learners know 'want' primarily as 'desire' and the construction 'want for X' is less productive, the mapping is not fully obvious without exposure.
Etymology
The phrase want for nothing comes from an older use of want meaning 'a lack'. Imagine a home with nothing missing; people there do not 'want' for anything, so the phrase means 'to have everything you need'.