Question

Necessity is the mother of inventions meaning is a phrase or idiom?

Answer 1

It's an proverb. "Necessity is the mother of invention" is a proverb. It cannot be called as an idiom. It means that when a need arise only we try to invent something. For example we needed electricity to run machines instead of manual power then the scientists started working hard to invent electricity.
When a necessity arouse only the scientists started working on it. Similarly it's with every case when a necessity arouse only we start working on it. " Necessity is the mother of invention" is a proverb.

Hope this helps you : )

Answer 2

Answer:

"Necessity is the mother of invention"

Necessity is the mother of invention is a popular proverb. The proverb means that when put in a difficult situation, one is likely to think and be inspired to create a novel or ingenious solution. Plato is often wrongly credited with this phrase. This saying appears in the dialogue Republic, by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. However, the proverb was well known before it appeared in translations of his works.

This proverb means that the primary driving force for most new inventions is a need. When faced with a necessity, one is likely to be inspired to create a novel or ingenious solution. A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem. For instance, the necessity to move bigger, heavier and larger quantities of goods and the need to travel longer distances lead to the invention of wheels which evolved into motor vehicles and trains. We now have ships to sail across vast oceans and planes to fly long distances in a much shorter time never imagined before.

When a necessity cannot be attained by existing means, we are naturally compelled to use our mental faculty and find ways to meet our needs. So a need or problem leads to creative efforts to solve the problem. Necessity is indeed the main force behind every new invention and discovery.