- present participle of crave.
craving
Americannoun
-
cravings
plural
noun
Synonym Usage
See desire.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of craving
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at crave, -ing 1
Explanation
A craving is an intense desire for something really particular. If you have a craving for pickled herring, a tuna sandwich just won't do. Must. Have. Pickled. Herring. Craving is the noun that comes from the verb crave, which comes from the Old English word crafian, meaning "to demand, beg." When we talk about cravings, it's almost like the body and not the mind that is demanding something. Pregnant women famously have crazy cravings, sending their partners to the store in the middle of the night for pickles or toffee. Some people have cravings for power or fame: the desire is so strong they can't let it go.
Vocabulary lists containing craving
Eat Your Words
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Sugar Changed the World
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The Tale of Despereaux
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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:
The two unacquainted orphans sign up, conscious that they have inherited the larceny gene and, unconsciously perhaps, craving a family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
He believes "perhaps the real craving was not always for the food, but for the ritual of ordering it".
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
We can also eat because we’re craving something, when the thought or sensory memory of a specific food becomes difficult to shake.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
“The convergence of recent innovation, a craving for nostalgia and millennial consumers entering higher-earning years are all driving forces,” the analysts said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
But she’d been having a craving for the little crispy fish that were caught and served at Galilee.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
The site's blog explores the "serious side" of the fake takeaway, from food-delivery addiction and why fake ordering feels good to cravings, guilt and the psychology of the shopping cart.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
These findings are reshaping our understanding of how the brain processes rewards and have put the spotlight firmly on the lateral septum as the home of cravings.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
For people who’ve struggled with restrictive eating and anorexia, the drugs’ help with appetite, cravings and satiety can be a tantalizing—and dangerous—proposition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Beware of coffee enemas,” reads the subject line of a post from a woman who did them regularly for a decade and reports feelings of exhaustion, spaciness and cravings when she tries to stop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
From time to time, they privately admit to excruciating cravings, for hamburgers or a slice of pepperoni pizza or a cold glass of milk.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
