HTTP/2 200
date: Thu, 09 Oct 2025 01:16:05 GMT
content-type: text/html; charset=utf-8
content-security-policy-report-only: default-src 'self';img-src 'self' data: https://flickr.com https://*.flickr.com https://s.gravatar.com https://s.gravatar.com/avatar https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar https://i1.wp.com/cdn.auth0.com/avatars https://cdn.auth0.com/avatars https://g.stripe.com/ https://ssl.google-analytics.com https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/ https://farm66.static.flickr.com https://www.google-analytics.com https://tpc.googlesyndication.com https://pbs.twimg.com https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net https://*.amazon-adsystem.com https://fundingchoicesmessages.google.com https://*.3lift.com https://ams-pageview-public.s3.amazonaws.com https://www.google.com https://syndication.twitter.com https://image8.pubmatic.com https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net https://*.googleusercontent.com;base-uri 'self';font-src 'self' https: data:;frame-ancestors 'self';frame-src https://js.stripe.com https://platform.twitter.com/ https://syndication.twitter.com/ https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/ https://*.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/ https://www.google.com/ https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/;connect-src 'self' https: https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ppub_config https://bam.nr-data.net/events/1/cb925c8058;object-src none;script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' report-sample https://js.stripe.com/v3/ https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.4.min.js https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.4.1.slim.min.js https://code.jquery.com/jquery-migrate-1.4.1.min.js https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/popper.js@1.16.0/dist/umd/popper.min.js https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.4.1/js/bootstrap.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/validate.js/0.13.1/validate.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/underscore.js/1.8.3/underscore-min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/list.js/1.5.0/list.min.js https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js https://www.googletagmanager.com/ https://ssl.google-analytics.com/ga.js https://js-agent.newrelic.com/nr-spa-1184.min.js https://fundingchoicesmessages.google.com https://bam.nr-data.net https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net https://www.googletagservices.com https://adservice.google.com https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/tether/1.4.0/js/tether.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/popper.js/1.12.9/umd/popper.min.js https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/clipboard@2.0.8/dist/clipboard.min.js https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/howler/2.1.1/howler.min.js https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/validator/10.9.0/validator.min.js https://*.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/ https://*.googlesyndication.com/ https://platform.twitter.com/js/ https://cdn.ampproject.org https://www.google-analytics.com https://adservice.google.be https://adservice.google.ca https://adservice.google.co.id https://adservice.google.co.mz https://adservice.google.co.th https://adservice.google.co.uk https://adservice.google.co.za https://adservice.google.com.au https://adservice.google.com.ec https://adservice.google.com.hk https://adservice.google.com.ng https://adservice.google.com.np https://adservice.google.com.ph https://adservice.google.com.sa https://adservice.google.de https://adservice.google.es https://adservice.google.fi https://adservice.google.fr https://adservice.google.ie https://adservice.google.it https://adservice.google.lk https://adservice.google.lt https://adservice.google.nl https://adservice.google.no https://adservice.google.rs https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net;script-src-attr none;style-src 'self' https: 'unsafe-inline' report-sample;report-uri https://5f9d927665d1a16209ba908c.endpoint.csper.io
x-dns-prefetch-control: off
expect-ct: max-age=0
x-frame-options: SAMEORIGIN
strict-transport-security: max-age=15552000; includeSubDomains
x-download-options: noopen
x-content-type-options: nosniff
x-permitted-cross-domain-policies: none
referrer-policy: origin-when-cross-origin
x-xss-protection: 0
etag: W/"113a4-nFXwC5zoxT38wzwaPlUzP7Qu7Yc"
set-cookie: cookienik=eyJjc3JmU2VjcmV0IjoiQ1BVOHhFSHVzUFYxZlBsYnRpY1lXTTlKIn0=; path=/; expires=Sun, 12 Oct 2025 01:16:05 GMT; domain=wordnik.com; secure; httponly
set-cookie: cookienik.sig=0WoTWogAx_9dyzWmZbTYJPi4gg0; path=/; expires=Sun, 12 Oct 2025 01:16:05 GMT; domain=wordnik.com; secure; httponly
vary: Accept-Encoding
content-encoding: gzip
must-have - definition and meaning
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
noun
from Wiktionary , Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
adjective essential to own .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word must-have .
Examples
If you have some extra money in your bank account, it's incredibly easy to come up with new, short-term "must-have " purchases.
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Dan Greenshields 2011
Since the early twenty-first century, lol has been a must-have abbreviation.1 Devised by internet users, it conveys mirth—“laughing out loud”—that is invisible and inaudible in purely onscreen interaction.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
Since the early twenty-first century, lol has been a must-have abbreviation.1 Devised by internet users, it conveys mirth—“laughing out loud”—that is invisible and inaudible in purely onscreen interaction.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
NOW: 'Drop zones' Once a must-have in the McMansion floor plan, double-story entrance foyers are now seen as a waste of space and energy-inefficient, homeowners and builders say.
Blueprint for a New American Home S. Mitra Kalita 2011
London's New Bond Street and Oxford Street have long been must-have locations.
Non-British Investors Go Shopping in London Anita Likus 2011
Still, Mr. Mackay said that Foster's is "not a must-have ."
Foster's Accepts Big Bid Dana Cimilluca 2011
When a must-have item comes down the runway, she immediately thinks, "How can we Bloom-itize it?"
The Making of an 'Exclusive' Elizabeth Holmes 2011
Therefore, I was taken by surprise when two additional "must-have " gratins entered my life.
Upper-Crust Gratins Gail Monaghan 2012
The company hasn't had a must-have consumer gadget in years.
Sony's Hirai Must Make Investors Believe James Simms 2012
Known as Droid Razr, Motorola's newest smartphone recalls the device maker's blockbuster Razr feature-phone franchise, once the must-have handset before Apple Inc. brought out the iPhone.
Motorola's New Droid: Razr Greg Bensinger 2011
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.