lust
Americannoun
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intense sexual desire or appetite.
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uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite; lecherousness.
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a passionate or overmastering desire or craving (usually followed byfor ).
a lust for power.
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ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish.
an enviable lust for life.
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Obsolete.
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pleasure or delight.
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desire; inclination; wish.
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noun
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a strong desire for sexual gratification
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a strong desire or drive
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lustsimple
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lustssimple
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have lustedperfect
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has lustedperfect
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am lustingprogressive
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are lustingprogressive
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is lustingprogressive
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have been lustingperfect progressive
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has been lustingperfect progressive
Past
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lustedsimple
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had lustedperfect
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was lustingprogressive
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were lustingprogressive
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had been lustingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lust
First recorded before 900; Middle English luste, Old English lust; cognate with Dutch, German Lust “pleasure, desire”; akin to Old Norse lyst “desire”; see list 4
Explanation
Lust is a strong craving for sex. It also can mean a hunger for anything, like lust for power. While lust isn't a dirty word, it is a strong word. You don't have lust for something you don't really care about. Lust is a strong, powerful desire, whether it's a noun or verb: you lust for things you deeply crave. Someone greedy lusts for money. Someone gluttonous lusts for food. The most basic meaning of lust is an unquenchable desire for sex, but people lust for all sorts of things.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hopefully the generation of Gen Z musicians depicted in the film still lust over the chance to try, even as a wretched economy makes road-dogging harder today while digital fame beckons instead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Citizen Kane” posited that all media moguls are driven by a lust for power that stems from an irreparable brokenness.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
That so-called lust for life looks a lot like a death wish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Celtic have not been a good team this season, but they've shown a lust for battle, an ability to keep playing and winning even when their performances have never risen above the mundane.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
One by one the harpies, their faces eager and hungry and suffused with the lust for misery, turned and flew back to the tree, and the ghosts drifted back as well.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
We only know them through the prism of men: Jane lusts after Yoga Dude, Coco rages at Roger, Sophie is bullied by her boss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
She loathes the former and lusts after the latter, and her heightened emotions and cabaret dreams swell to a magnificent, hysterical crescendo unlike Broadway has ever seen.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2025
Some of them involve a comically angry Devil who lusts after Cuphead’s soul; others revolve around the Betty Boop-like Miss Chalice or the torch-singing sea monster Cala Maria, who provides Dietrich-accented Hollywood glamour.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
Domingo spent decades enacting the full spectrum of what is now called toxic masculinity, men blind to their own lusts and rages.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2020
"My father is the soul of avarice, and my sweet sister Cersei lusts for power with every waking breath. I, however, am innocent as a little lamb. Shall I bleat for you?"
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
In suggesting the price was a smidge too high, the streamer tells us it never really lusted after Warner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
“I never wanted to her to think I lusted for the job,” Bonner said in a text message.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025
“Or a collector brings in a body of work that you lusted after for many years.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
The casino industry has long lusted after New York City, with its estimated 8.5 million residents and global appeal as a tourist destination.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2022
As I went along I found that more and more people lusted toward Florida and that thousands had moved there and more thousands wanted to and would.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
It’s that for various reasons, a lot of Americans are lusting after proof that America is good.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Maybe if people understand how thoroughly an early history of trauma can rewire a brain, they’ll stop lusting for harsh punishments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
On the field, the players will be as fervent as they ever were, lusting for success, trying on stardom but still young and rehearsing for adulthood.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2021
From Elon Musk to Richard Branson, the wealthiest man on Earth follows a long line of exorbitantly wealthy men lusting for space travel.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2021
It goes a little deeper than the former, showing that the covetousness which follows after vain things, is really wicked lusting for unrighteous gain.
From Expositions of Holy Scripture Second Kings Chapters VIII to End and Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Esther, Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes by Alexander Maclaren
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