famine
Americannoun
-
famines
plural
-
extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area.
-
any extreme and general scarcity.
- Synonyms:
- scantness, meagerness, poverty, paucity, dearth
-
extreme hunger; starvation.
noun
-
a severe shortage of food, as through crop failure or overpopulation
-
acute shortage of anything
-
violent hunger
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of famine
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, derivative of faim “hunger,” from Latin famēs; cf. famish
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.
Vocabulary lists containing famine
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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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:
In parts of Africa, Central America, and India, drought is already strangling crop yields and threatening famine.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
“As Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Afterward, Connolly said she told Trump that “the normalization of war and genocide can never be accepted,” citing Ireland’s own history of famine, colonization and the Troubles.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras, located in the so-called "Dry Corridor", all set monthly temperature records in both June and July, heightening concerns over famine.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
A famine caused by an inadequate Nile flood in 245 aggravated native resentment against the Greek monarchy and the burdensome cost of its imperial rivalries.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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
In extreme conditions such as droughts, famines or freezing temperatures, animals activate resilience programs like hibernation instead of investing energy in reproduction.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2026
Generations before us have survived wars and famines.
From Salon ● May 1, 2025
“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
Luke wished he’d had the nerve to ask about the Population Law, or the famines, or even some family history.
From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions 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.
