famine

American  

[fam-in] / ˈfæm ɪn /

noun

• famines
  plural

1. extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area.

2. any extreme and general scarcity.

   Synonyms:

   scantness, meagerness, poverty, paucity, dearth

3. extreme hunger; starvation.

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famine British  

/ ˈfæmɪn /

noun

1. a severe shortage of food, as through crop failure or overpopulation

2. acute shortage of anything

3. violent hunger

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famine Idioms  

1. see feast or famine.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• famines
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of famine

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, derivative of faim “hunger,” from Latin famēs; cf. famish

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Explanation

A famine is a severe shortage of food, but not the "I forgot to go to the grocery store and there's nothing to eat in the house" type of shortage. A famine is usually caused by crop failure or disaster. Although the "extreme shortage of food" meaning is most common, the noun famine can also mean any shortage or insufficiency, and it is often used idiomatically in the phrase "feast or famine." This usage refers to something that is alternately plentiful and scarce — like the feast and famine experienced by an artist who only occasionally sells his paintings.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

famine famines

The famine, Jeanna Smialek writes, “would finally change Maria Edgeworth’s mind.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

In southern Madagascar, aid workers told AFP they are already battling the effects of a famine and conditions are expected to worsen as El Nino's full impact on Africa takes hold from this month.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

In parts of Africa, Central America, and India, drought is already strangling crop yields and threatening famine.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

Manchester United constantly seem to flip between feast and famine, when often they've simply been fine.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Shin and his mother were miserable and hungry during the famine, but no more than they were accustomed to.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

It asserted that widespread famines and mass starvation would doom huge swaths of mankind because the world’s population was growing too rapidly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

“Drawing from our experience with previous famines, we know that widespread deaths have already occurred by the time a famine is officially declared.”

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2024

Wars, famines, outbreaks, natural disasters … There are, sadly, many reasons why populations might be forced or feel compelled to leave their homes in search of refuge elsewhere, and these cases continue to grow.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2024

With powerful statistical models, the researchers analyzed 30,000 years of archaeological records, tracing the impact of wars, famines and climate change.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2024

If you wore special glasses you could see them spinning through the sky among the bats and homing birds—blondes, wars, famines, football, food shows, coups d’ etat, hairstyles stiff with hair spray.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

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Related Words

• drought
• misery
• poverty
• scarcity
• starvation

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