craving

American

[krey-ving] / ˈkreɪ vɪŋ /

noun

great or eager desire; yearning.

craving British

/ ˈkreɪvɪŋ /

noun

an intense desire or longing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See desire.

Other Word Forms

cravingly adverb
cravingness noun
uncraving adjective
uncravingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of craving

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; crave, -ing ¹

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.

In other words, they’re exactly the types of plays that baseball depends on to attract younger audiences craving excitement.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Whatever your arts craving may be, this astoundingly rich new lineup of new local museums has you covered.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Brendan Vacation’s Deluxe Seaweed Experience is among the increasingly popular immersive culinary experiences guests are craving.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026

And there’s the time I was craving Italian food: two orders of rigatoni ragu totaled $63.18.

From Salon • Mar. 3, 2026

But then, somewhere around 6:00 or 7:00, when the desire to sit down becomes a serious craving, a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde transformation sets in.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023