thirst
Americannoun
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a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat caused by need of liquid.
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the physical condition resulting from this need, in any of various degrees.
They almost died of thirst.
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strong or eager desire; craving.
a thirst for knowledge.
verb (used without object)
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to feel thirst; be thirsty.
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to have a strong desire.
noun
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a craving to drink, accompanied by a feeling of dryness in the mouth and throat
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an eager longing, craving, or yearning
a thirst for knowledge
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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thirstsimple
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thirstssimple
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have thirstedperfect
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has thirstedperfect
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am thirstingprogressive
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are thirstingprogressive
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is thirstingprogressive
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have been thirstingperfect progressive
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has been thirstingperfect progressive
Past
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thirstedsimple
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had thirstedperfect
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was thirstingprogressive
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were thirstingprogressive
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had been thirstingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thirst
before 900; Middle English thirsten (v.), Old English thyrstan, derivative of thurst (noun); cognate with Dutch dorst, German Durst, Old Norse thorsti, Gothic thaurstei; noun has -i- from the v. or from thirsty; see toast 1
Explanation
Thirst is the sensation of needing or wanting to drink something. Use the same word whether you're talking about your thirst for lemonade on a hot day or the dire thirst of someone lost in a desert without water. At its most serious, thirst can be compared to starvation: "The water shortage is leading to extreme thirst in the poorest parts of the country." You can also use this word for a much milder need, like your cousin's seemingly endless thirst for root beer. Figuratively, to thirst for something is to desire it strongly: "Her thirst for knowledge means she stays up late reading the encyclopedia."
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:
It also said that “mild to moderate dehydration can build gradually across the day for most people, often without realizing it, and thirst is not always a reliable signal.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Monroe’s personal legacy is like a charm bracelet hung with more unsubstantiated rumors than genuine facts, but one undeniable trait was her thirst to defy the world’s expectations.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
"It's mainly to quench our thirst, and we have to give our animals water too," Andras, a student, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
However, he has no thirst for a statue to be placed outside the ground.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
But Jess ignored the pain and the thirst and the volcano’s roar.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
And one which has a big job ahead: Taking the food orders and quenching the thirsts of millions of visitors who will flock to the Paris Olympics this July.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
The half-inch-long insects are destructive agricultural pests because of their unquenchable thirsts and splashy bathroom habits: when nature calls, these bugs launch droplets of their watery pee and create puddles of disease-causing waste.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 28, 2023
But it’s also important to remember how much Mr. Obama thirsts to be around celebrities like Jay Z and Beyonce and Oprah.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 17, 2022
Improv musician Marc Rebillet uses a loop machine and strong WiFi to quench our thirsts.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2020
They all rested like that, absolutely quiet, drinking more slowly now that their thirsts had been quenched, eyes vaguely fixed on shadow-casting objects downhill.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Though both won races across all of alpine’s disciplines, Vonn thirsted for the speed of downhill and its little sister super-G, in which she posted 71 of her 82 World Cup wins.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 8, 2023
And yet we found shelter within it, we pondered our lives and the lives of others, thirsted, slept.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 19, 2022
Chinese officials have openly thirsted for him to be punished.
From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2020
England’s expanding colonies always thirsted for more Indian lands, but the French claimed vast territories without fully occupying them.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
But what I had always thirsted for were the details: the way her hair glinted in the sunlight, her favorite ice cream flavor, the songs she liked to hum, did she bite her nails?
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Venture Global, which went public last year and is valued at roughly $39 billion, has positioned its Gulf Coast terminals as the answer to Asian and European buyers thirsting for new volumes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
"That two undocumented migrants were the only ones who physically risked themselves to help the victim of a pack thirsting for horror leaves much food for thought and a series of lessons," Mayor Rey said.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2025
“I wasn’t campaigning for it, but I was thirsting for something different, completely removed from the work I had been doing up to that point,” Jenkins said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
And sometimes the changes come like a whirlwind, dividing parishes between those thirsting for a more reverent Catholicism and those who feel their spiritual home has been taken from them.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2024
We slipped in and out of wakefulness, wincing at the soreness in our muscles, and thirsting for more of that tart lemonade.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
