Noun

Wikipedia demand (plural demands)

1. The desire to purchase goods and services.

   Prices usually go up when demand exceeds supply.

2. (economics) The amount of a good or service that a consumer is willing to buy at a particular price.
3. A need.

   There is a demand for voluntary health workers in the poorer parts of Africa and Asia.

4. A claim for something.

   Modern society is responding to women's demands for equality.

5. A requirement.

   His job makes many demands on his time.

6. An urgent request.

   She couldn't ignore the newborn baby's demands for attention.

7. An order.
8. (electric) the measure of the maximum power load of a utility's customer over a short period of time; the power load integrated over a specified time interval.

In economics, demand is the desire to own anything and the ability to pay for it and willingness to pay (see also supply and demand). The term demand signifies the ability or the willingness to buy a particular commodity at a given point of time.

Economists record demand on a demand schedule and plot it on a graph as a demand curve that is usually downward sloping. The downward slope reflects the relationship between price and quantity demanded: as price decreases, quantity demanded increases. In principle, each consumer has a demand curve for any product that he or she would consider buying, and the consumer's demand curve is equal to the marginal utility (benefit) curve. When the demand curves of all consumers are added up, the result is the market demand curve for that product. If there are no externalities, the market demand curve is also equal to the social utility (benefit) curve.

Demand schedule

The demand schedule shows the quantity of goods that a consumer would be willing and able to buy at specific prices under the existing circumstances. Some of the more important factors affecting demand are the price of the good, the price of related goods, tastes and preferences, income, and consumer expectations.