pine
noun
any evergreen, conifer of the genus Pinus, having long, needle-shaped leaves, certain species of which yield timber, turpentine, tar, pitch, etc.
pine
1 American
[pahyn]
/ paɪn /
pine
2
American
[pahyn]
/ paɪn /
verb (used without object)
-
pines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pined,
past participle, past
-
pining
present participle
-
to yearn deeply; suffer with longing; long painfully (often followed byfor ).
to pine for one's home and family.
-
to fail gradually in health or vitality from grief, regret, or longing (often followed byaway ).
Separated by their families, the lovers pined away.
-
Archaic. to be discontented; fret.
verb (used with object)
-
pines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pined,
past participle, past
-
pining
present participle
noun
pine
1
British
/ paɪn /
noun
-
any evergreen resinous coniferous tree of the genus Pinus, of the N hemisphere, with long needle-shaped leaves and brown cones: family Pinaceae See also longleaf pine nut pine pitch pine Scots pine
-
any other tree or shrub of the family Pinaceae
-
the wood of any of these trees
-
any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as ground pine and screw pine
pine
2
British
/ paɪn /
verb
-
(intr; often foll by for or an infinitive) to feel great longing or desire; yearn
-
to become ill, feeble, or thin through worry, longing, etc
-
archaic (tr) to mourn or grieve for
Pine
3
British
/ paɪn /
noun
Synonym Usage
See yearn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pinesimple
-
pinessimple
-
have pinedperfect
-
has pinedperfect
-
am piningprogressive
-
are piningprogressive
-
is piningprogressive
-
have been piningperfect progressive
-
has been piningperfect progressive
Past
-
pinedsimple
-
had pinedperfect
-
was piningprogressive
-
were piningprogressive
-
had been piningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pine1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English pin(e), pigne, Old English pīntrēow “pine tree,” from Old French pin and Latin pīnus
Origin of pine2
First recorded before 900; Middle English pinen “to torture, torment, inflict pain, be in pain”; Old English pīnian “to torture,” derivative of pīn “torture” ( Middle English pine ), from Late Latin pēna, Latin poena “punishment”; see pain
Explanation
If you pine for someone, you desperately want to see them, be with them, or perhaps smother them with kisses. If you're texting your ex-boyfriend over 50 times a day, there's a pretty good chance that you still pine for him. In Old English, pine meant "to torture or cause to experience pain," which seems quite fitting if you've known what it's like to pine for something or someone. The verb pine should not be confused with the noun pine, as in the evergreen tree. If you are from the Northeast and find yourself living in the Caribbean, you may pine for the sight of a pine tree, but the lovely weather should ease the pain.
Vocabulary lists containing pine
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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:
They have a woody aroma likened to pine or juniper.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Mr. Flanagan’s placing “Carrie” in today’s youth culture makes us pine for the days when Betty Buckley could simply banish Nancy Allen from the school dance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
A menu, she argued, should not require cooks to spend 18 hours peeling pine nuts simply because the chef wants to demonstrate technical skill.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
A room that smells like citrus, pine, or flowers is often associated with cleanliness.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
Sadako was sure that they would always be as close as two pine needles on the same twig.
From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr
“We are heartbroken. We are horrified,” said Steven Cook, superintendent of the Bend-La Pine Schools district, which includes Silver Rail Elementary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"We are stunned and heartbroken by this senseless tragedy," said Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook in a statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
In 2021, an investor group led by Bay Pine LP acquired a majority stake in Mavis for $6 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
The second largest cluster of detections occurred near the Pine Island Glacier.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
A few miles out of Lone Pine we started looking for another stand of trees, some tall elms, and what remains of those gnarled pear orchards.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
She stopped in the middle of the woods during a walk, looked with disapproval at my light jacket, and threw her hands up in mock confusion, surveying the snow-encrusted pines.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
The coastline is lined with maritime pines, originally planted under Napoleon III to shield local villages from advancing dunes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The Bordeaux region has slowed rural building too, but fire danger from the pines remains extremely high, said Claire Aragau, the professor at the Paris School of Urban Planning who led the study.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
The pines would also enrich landowners and the Bordeaux bourgeoisie: The hardscrabble culture of sheep grazing gave way to a booming industry of wood, paper and resin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
The branches of the tall pines stirred in a rain-bearing wind.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
And during their down years, Knicks die-hards pined for LeBron James or Kevin Durant to ride in to the rescue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Yet he felt compelled to hold a news conference at the Bears training camp in Lake Forest, Ill., to explain why he pined for playing in, say, Minnesota.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2025
Mr. Butzel told The New York Times in 2000 that as a lawyer’s son he “felt obligated to be a lawyer, but it was nothing I pined to do.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
Several residents still pined for a separate state, leading India’s Parliament to establish Sikh- and Hindu-dominated states in the north, respectively recognized as Punjab and Haryana, by 1966.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2023
The intervening year helped her make the transition to everything but the Virginia heat; many was the night she pined for White Sulphur Springs’ brisk summer nights.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
In Lagos, Itoro is still pining for his family.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
She’s a poet, and I think she really understands girlhood — the pining and the wanting to be accepted — and she does it in such a beautiful and majestic way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
The lack of a son’s POV makes Boy Mom pining both performative and disturbingly real.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
By all accounts, investors are pining for shares.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
“Winky is pining, Harry Potter,” Dobby whispered sadly.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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