hunger

American  

[huhng-ger] / ˈhʌŋ gər /

noun

1. a compelling need or desire for food.

2. the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food.

   to collapse from hunger.

3. a shortage of food; famine.

4. a strong or compelling desire or craving.

   hunger for power.

   Synonyms:

   itch, lust, greed, appetite

---

verb (used without object)

hungers, present (3rd person singular) hungered, past participle, past hungering present participle

1. to feel hunger; be hungry.

2. to have a strong desire.

verb (used with object)

hungers, present (3rd person singular) hungered, past participle, past hungering present participle

1. Rare. to subject to hunger; starve.

idioms

1. from hunger, deplorably bad; dreadful: Also strictly from hunger.

   The styles in coats this winter are from hunger.

hunger British  

/ ˈhʌŋɡə /

noun

1. a feeling of pain, emptiness, or weakness induced by lack of food

2. an appetite, desire, need, or craving

   hunger for a woman

---

verb

1. to have or cause to have a need or craving for food

2. (intr; usually foll by for or after) to have a great appetite or desire (for)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-hungered
  adjective
• hungeringly
  adverb
• prehunger
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has hungered
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have hungered
  perfect
• has been hungering
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• hungering
  participle
• hungers
  singular 3rd person
• is hungering
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been hungering
  perfect progressive
• are hungering
  progressive
• am hungering
  progressive 1st person singular

Past

• had hungered
  perfect
• was hungering
  progressive singular
• had been hungering
  perfect progressive
• were hungering
  progressive plural
• hungered
  participle
• hungered
  simple

Future

• will hunger
  simple
• will have hungered
  perfect
• will be hungering
  progressive
• will have been hungering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hunger

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hungor; cognate with German Hunger

Explanation

Hunger is the sensation of needing — or wanting — to eat something. People use the same word to describe a hankering for a snack or for the more dire meaning of starvation, as in "world hunger." Hunger sometimes refers to an extreme lack of food, the equivalent to starvation: "We need to do something about hunger in poor communities." It can also simply mean your afternoon craving: "My daily hunger for chocolate was distracting me from my work." You can also hunger for things, both food (like when you hunger for French fries) and non-food things (like when you hunger for attention).

Example Sentences

The son of a British couple jailed in Iran has called for a prisoner exchange to be explored to secure their release, as the pair remain on hunger strike.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026

Eager to raise cash for data centers, Son plans to tap the market’s hunger for companies focused on AI and related uses by spinning off collections of companies within SoftBank.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Protests erupted last month outside an immigrant detention facility in New Jersey after detainees launched a hunger and labor strike over what they called inhumane conditions such as rotten food and medical neglect.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

Signals from the gut, hormones, metabolism, and the brain can all influence hunger, cravings, and weight regain.

From Science Daily • May 31, 2026

Somehow, the water I had drunk at the stream had managed to satisfy my hunger as well as my thirst.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• craving
• desire
• famine
• greed
• longing
• lust
• starvation
• yearning