Had to have

Latest answer — September 29, 2026

13 Down

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Clue explained

NEEDED is the past-tense form of “need,” meaning had to have something.

Clue type:
Word form
A person reaching for an essential item

NYT Crossword

This clue's Tuesday, September 29, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Big ones can be difficult to manage
  2. 5Urge
  3. 9British John
  4. 14Nincompoop
  5. 15Surrounding glow
  6. 16Who "wants to be defeated" in "Beat It"
  7. 17Where some monster home runs land
  8. 19Language of the Vikings
  9. 20Rich deposits of ore
  10. 21Home of the Buckeyes, for short
  11. 23Muslim holiday, informally
  12. 24Scoped out with intent to rob
  13. 25Pretty long time, in an idiom
  14. 28Battery fill
  15. 29Capital of Yemen
  16. 30Copied
  17. 31"You ___!" ("Absolutely!")
  18. 32Terse
  19. 33"I ___ U" (candy heart message)
  20. 35Another plateful from the buffet, say
  21. 40Deposit/withdrawal site, in brief
  22. 41Board appointee, for short
  23. 42Work unit
  24. 44Chief god of Valhalla
  25. 47European viper
  26. 49Greek goddess of the earth
  27. 50Position of Rickey Henderson in M.L.B.
  28. 52Storage units
  29. 53Dad on "Black-ish"
  30. 54Pablo Neruda's "___ to My Socks"
  31. 55Indie rock singer ___ O
  32. 56Couch
  33. 58Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do?
  34. 62Unconcealed
  35. 63Toll unit on some roads
  36. 64Tour de France entry
  37. 65"Cooties"
  38. 66Hitch up on a farm
  39. 67Ice cream brand that's a cousin of Dreyer's

Down

  1. 1Address ending that's not .com, .org or .gov
  2. 2Reach great heights in life
  3. 3Like black and white
  4. 4Numbered in a tournament bracket
  5. 5Always at the pharmacy?
  6. 6Regret
  7. 7Middle-earth foe
  8. 8___ Territory, 1861-89
  9. 9Ho-hum feeling
  10. 10British john
  11. 11Ripped to pieces
  12. 12Like not-work-from-home days
  13. 13Had to have
  14. 18Visibly embarrassed, say
  15. 22Like subcompacts vis-à-vis compacts
  16. 24What can travel a fare distance?
  17. 25Brain-busting
  18. 26Just between us
  19. 27Blue race in "Avatar"
  20. 29Raisin brand whose containers feature a girl in a red bonnet
  21. 32Hotel request
  22. 34Scanned lines, for short
  23. 36"If you ___ stand the heat ..."
  24. 37Crossed (out)
  25. 38Made nice?
  26. 39Band with the 6x platinum album "American Idiot"
  27. 43Pit stop refill
  28. 44Subject of a saying about new tricks
  29. 45Infer (from)
  30. 46Perhaps not at all
  31. 48Spinner of tunes
  32. 49Move like Shakira in her "Hips Don't Lie" video
  33. 51Courier and Century Gothic, for two
  34. 52"Nuts!"
  35. 55Achy joint for a floor installer, perhaps
  36. 57Pitcher's asset
  37. 59Kitchen brand that could be an unsuccessful tic-tac-toe line
  38. 60Sort
  39. 61Texting format, for short

The answer to “Had to have” in the New York Times crossword is NEEDED — a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 29, 2026, a Tuesday puzzle, at 13-Down. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Had to have” answer

NEEDED (6 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is NEEDED.

What does NEEDED mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of NEEDED is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(verb)

  • require (something) because it is essential or very important rather than just desirable
  • expressing necessity or obligation
  • be necessary

When else has “Had to have” appeared?

New York Times reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

September 29, 2026 (most recent) → NEEDED. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Had to have”?

The answer is NEEDED, a 6-letter word. It most recently appeared in the New York Times crossword on September 29, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Had to have”?

6 letters: NEEDED.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the New York Times crossword on September 29, 2026 (a Tuesday puzzle), at 13-Down.

Can “Had to have” have a different answer?

Yes — New York Times sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's NYT Crossword answers?

The full grid for September 29, 2026 is on the NYT Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

New York Times Crossword is published by The New York Times; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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