1 [count] : a forceful statement in which you say that something must be done or given to you
▪ The committee is considering her demand that she be given more time to complete the study. ▪ The workers said they would not end the strike until their demands were met/satisfied. — often + for ▪ The store refused to meet the customer's demand for a refund. ▪ Parents made demands for the teacher's resignation. 2 [singular] : a strong need for something
▪ The demand for low-income housing is increasing as the economy gets worse. ▪ We are seeing an increased demand for hospital beds. 3 : the ability and need or desire to buy goods and services [noncount] ▪ The company increased production to meet demand. — often + for ▪ Demand for fresh milk has surpassed supply in the region. [=people want to buy more milk than is available] [singular] — often + for ▪ Local farmers say they will increase the number of peach trees they grow in order to meet a rising demand for peaches. [=in order to have as many peaches as customers want to buy] — see also supply and demand 4 demands [plural] a : difficult things you have to do because someone requires you to do them or because they are part of a job, activity, etc. — often + of ▪ He wasn't sure he could handle the physical demands of the work. ▪ The demands of the job became too much for him. ▪ New parents are sometimes overwhelmed by the demands of parenthood.
b — used to describe something that requires a large amount of energy, time, etc. ▪ Record high temperatures have placed heavy demands on the nation's energy supplies. [=because of the high temperatures, a lot of the nation's energy is being used] ▪ A full-time job in addition to school puts great demands on her time. [=most of her time is spent working and going to school] ▪ His novels make many demands on the reader. [=his novels are difficult for people to read and understand]