Requisition Meaning: Definition, Examples and How to Use It

Requisition is a formal word for a formal act: an official demand for something to be supplied, or the written order that makes the demand. When a hospital files a requisition for new beds, it is not simply asking — it is putting in an authorised request through the proper channels. When an army requisitions a building, it is taking it over by authority, usually temporarily, for public or military use.

The word carries weight precisely because it sounds official. A request can be casual; a requisition cannot. It belongs to offices, warehouses, barracks, and courts — places where things are ordered on forms, approved by managers, and recorded in files. Understanding it means understanding that sense of authority: somebody with the right to demand is demanding.

What the Dictionaries Say

Merriam-Webster defines the noun requisition as “the act of formally requiring or calling upon someone to perform an action,” and also as “the act of requiring something to be furnished” and “a demand or application made usually with authority.” The same entry records the verb: to requisition something is to demand it and take it for use, especially by military or public authority. Merriam-Webster adds a striking usage note: the word “was originally a noun but is now probably more common as a verb.”

Collins gives the same two branches in plainer terms. As a transitive verb, “if people in authority requisition a vehicle, building, or food, they formally demand it and take it for official use.” As a countable noun, “a requisition is a written document which allows a person or organization to obtain goods.” Dictionary.com adds the senses of “the act of requiring or demanding,” “a written request or order for something, as supplies,” and “the state of being required for use or called into service.”

Merriam-Webster dates the first known use of the word to the 15th century. It comes from late Middle English requisicioun, from Latin requisitio — “a searching” — built on requirere, “to search for,” the same root that gives us require. The verb sense is much younger: the dictionaries date it to the 19th century.

You can read the full entry in the Cambridge Dictionary.

The Two Main Senses

Almost every use of requisition falls into one of two families, and keeping them apart makes the word much easier to use.

1. The office sense: a formal request on a form

In business and administration, a requisition is a written request for goods or services, usually made on a standard form and approved by someone senior. A department raises a purchase requisition when it needs new equipment; a stores clerk fills a requisition form to draw supplies from the warehouse. The word here is close to “request,” but it signals a process: the demand is documented, authorised, and traceable.

This is the sense most people meet at work. “I put in a requisition for a new laptop” means you completed the official form and sent it up the chain — not that you mentioned to a colleague that your laptop was slow.

2. The authority sense: taking something over

The older and sterner sense is about power. A government or army may requisition buildings, vehicles, food, or land — formally demanding them and taking them for public use, usually in wartime or an emergency. The taking is normally temporary, and compensation may follow, but the owner has no choice in the matter. Dictionary.com’s British entry puts it plainly: “the act of taking something over, especially temporarily for military or public use in time of emergency.”

The same authority runs through the legal senses. One government may make a requisition on another for the surrender of a fugitive — a formal demand under an extradition arrangement. And in property law, a “requisition on title” is a formal demand made to the seller of a property for the official records relating to its ownership.

Requisition as a Verb

As a verb, requisition is regular and straightforward: requisitions, requisitioning, requisitioned. “The army requisitioned the hotel for use as a hospital.” “The council requisitioned the land for a new road.” The passive is common, because the thing taken matters more than who took it: “Two thousand goods vehicles have been requisitioned by my officers.”

Notice the grammar. The verb takes a direct object — you requisition something — and it often takes a purpose phrase after it: “requisitioned for naval purposes,” “requisitioned for use as offices.” Collins also records a rarer construction in which a person is the object: to requisition someone to do something is to require them formally to do it, as in “to requisition a soldier to drive a staff officer’s car.” That use is formal and uncommon in everyday English.

How to Pronounce Requisition (UK and US)

Requisition has four syllables — re-qui-si-tion — and the stress falls on the third: rek-wih-ZISH-un.

• UK: /ˌrɛkwɪˈzɪʃn/ — “rek-wih-ZISH-n.” The second syllable keeps a short i sound, and the final syllable is a bare “shn.”
• US: /ˌrɛkwəˈzɪʃən/ — “rek-wuh-ZISH-un.” The second syllable relaxes into a schwa, the neutral “uh” sound, and the final syllable is a fuller “-un.”

Two traps catch learners. The first is the spelling of the middle: -quis-, pronounced “kwiz,” not “kiss” — the qu is “kw,” as in “question.” The second is the ending: -tion is pronounced “shun,” never “tee-on.” Say it slowly as “rek-wih-ZISH-un” and the spelling falls into place.

Requisition vs Request

The nearest everyday synonym is request, and the difference between the two words is a difference of register and power. A request can be made by anyone, politely, and it can be refused. A requisition is made by someone with authority, through a formal channel, and it is expected to be obeyed. You request a day off; a quartermaster requisitions supplies. You request a table at a restaurant; a hospital requisitions beds.

The same logic separates requisition from its stronger neighbours. Commandeer is close in the military sense, but it is more abrupt and informal — a commander who commandeers a truck simply takes it, while a requisition implies paperwork and procedure. Confiscate means to seize something as a penalty, usually permanently; a requisition is normally temporary and for a stated public purpose.

Examples in Real Contexts

• The department filed a requisition for ten new computers.
• During the war, the army requisitioned the village hall as a field hospital.
• All purchases over £500 require an approved purchase requisition.
• The stores clerk processed the requisition and issued the spare parts the same afternoon.
• The hall was decorated with furnishings requisitioned from private palaces. (Cambridge’s example)
• The government assumed powers to requisition cereal products at fixed prices.
• Two thousand five hundred goods vehicles have been requisitioned by my officers.
• She sent a requisition to the supplier for a further delivery of paper.

Correct vs Incorrect

Correct	Incorrect	Why
I put in a requisition for new chairs.	I put in a requesition for new chairs.	The spelling is requisition: re-qui-si-tion. The “i” after “quis” is often dropped by mistake.
The army requisitioned the building.	The army requisitioned for the building.	Requisition takes a direct object — you requisition something, not “requisition for” it.
The supplies are in requisition.	The supplies are on requisition.	The fixed phrase for “in demand” is “in requisition,” not “on requisition.”
She filed a requisition form.	She filed a requisitioning form.	The noun for the document is “requisition”; “requisitioning” is the verb’s -ing form.
The hotel was requisitioned as a hospital.	The hotel was requisitioned like a hospital.	The purpose phrase uses “as” or “for use as,” not “like.”

Common Mistakes

• Dropping a letter in the spelling: Requisition is often misspelled “requesition” or “requistion.” Break it into syllables — re-qui-si-tion — and the spelling follows the sound.
• Using it for any casual request: Asking a friend to pass the salt is a request, not a requisition. Save the word for formal, documented, or authoritative demands.
• Confusing the noun and the verb: The form you fill in is a requisition; the act of demanding is requisitioning. “I sent a requisitioning” is wrong; “I sent a requisition” is right.
• Forgetting the authority in the word: A requisition implies someone has the right to demand. A customer cannot “requisition” a refund from a shop; they can request one, or demand one, but requisition belongs to institutions and officials.
• Misplacing the stress: The stress is on the third syllable — rek-wih-ZISH-un — not on the first (“REK-wi-si-tion”) or the second (“re-KWI-si-tion”).

FAQs

Is “requisition” a noun or a verb?

Both. It began as a noun in the 15th century, and the verb use dates from the 19th century. Merriam-Webster notes that the verb is now probably the more common of the two. As a noun it means a formal demand or the document that makes it; as a verb it means to demand and take something for official use.

What is a purchase requisition?

A purchase requisition is the internal form an employee or department completes to ask the purchasing team to buy something. It states what is needed, how much it costs, and who approved it. It is the first step in the buying process, before a purchase order is issued to the supplier.

What is the difference between requisition and request?

A request is any act of asking, and it can be informal and can be refused. A requisition is a formal, documented demand made through official channels, usually by someone with authority. The formality and the authority are what make the word different.

Can a requisition be refused?

An office requisition can be refused or sent back — a manager may reject a purchase requisition if the money is not available. A military or government requisition, by contrast, is a demand backed by law, and the owner is normally required to comply, though compensation is usually paid.

What does “in requisition” mean?

It is a formal, slightly old-fashioned phrase meaning “in demand” or “in use.” If skilled engineers are “in requisition,” they are much sought after. The phrase is rare in modern everyday English but still appears in formal and historical writing.

The Takeaway

Requisition is the formal, authoritative cousin of request: a noun for an official demand or the form that makes it, and a verb for demanding and taking something for public or official use. It has four syllables, stress on the third, and a history that runs from Latin requirere through 15th-century English to the modern office form. Use it where authority and paperwork are involved — and reach for request everywhere else.