hunger strike

¹ American  

noun

1. a deliberate refusal to eat, undertaken in protest against imprisonment, improper treatment, objectionable conditions, etc.

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hunger-strike ² American  

[huhng-ger-strahyk] / ˈhʌŋ gərˌstraɪk /

verb (used without object)

hunger-struck, hunger-striking

1. to go on a hunger strike.

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hunger strike British  

noun

1. a voluntary fast undertaken, usually by a prisoner, as a means of protest

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Other Word Forms

• hunger striker noun

Etymology

Origin of hunger strike¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of hunger-strike²

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

At UCLA, professors in the Chicana/o and Central American Studies program — its founding dates to a 1993 hunger strike modeled after ones Chávez did — voted to remove his name from the department.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

Activists say some family members of those imprisoned in the facility have gone on hunger strike to demand the release of their relatives.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2026

But she added that Panahi, "who wrote this script in prison in Iran, who went on hunger strike," has highlighted "space... for reconciliation with his executioner."

From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026

The Narges Foundation, which supports her, described the hearing on Saturday as a "sham" and explained she had begun a hunger strike on 2 February.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2026

Then, again led by Paul and Burns, they went on a hunger strike, a strategy designed to attract public attention to what the denial of women’s right to vote had led to.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• fasting