hanker
Americanverb (used without object)
-
hankers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hankered,
past participle, past
-
hankering
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See yearn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hankersimple
-
hankerssimple
-
have hankeredperfect
-
has hankeredperfect
-
am hankeringprogressive
-
are hankeringprogressive
-
is hankeringprogressive
-
have been hankeringperfect progressive
-
has been hankeringperfect progressive
Past
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hankeredsimple
-
had hankeredperfect
-
was hankeringprogressive
-
were hankeringprogressive
-
had been hankeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hanker
First recorded in 1595–1605; from early Dutch dialect hankeren (cognate with Dutch hunkeren ), frequentative of hangen “to hang”; see hang
Explanation
To hanker for something is to crave it, or really want it. On a hot, sunny afternoon, you might hanker for a tall glass of sweet iced tea. People often hanker for relatively meaningless things, like chocolate cake or a nap or a new pair of shoes, but you can also hanker after more important things, like a long-lost friend or a new job. If you long for it, you hanker for it. The word's origin is a little fuzzy, but one good guess traces it to the Middle Dutch hangen, "to hang," from the idea of "hanging around" or "lingering."
Vocabulary lists containing hanker
Matilda
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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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:
I didn’t understand then that it is possible to hanker deeply after something that is neither pretty nor useful, just because of the person who once used it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
When people in the Niassa Special Reserve of northern Mozambique hanker for something sweet, they don’t call DoorDash or Uber Eats.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 6, 2023
“I kind of do still hanker for that.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 1, 2022
Designers, pundits and consumers alike hanker for reasons to dress up again — routinely and in public.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2022
There is no question about our good intentions in this matter: we all hanker, collectively, to become applied scientists as soon as we can, overnight if possible.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Restaurants can run with seating limitations, but few are — nobody hankers for sit-down, Iowa Chops until they know the real score.
From Washington Post ● May 28, 2020
For the designer Sandy Liang, who recently sponsored a pop-up shop on her island, it is a consumer who hankers for playfulness in a fashion world that often takes itself too seriously.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2020
But whereas Johnson craves fame, Stewart hankers for something more like the abyss.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 19, 2019
And if Meghan hankers for a stretch of sand to remind her of home, then we recommend she heads to West Wittering with its colourful beach huts.
From BBC ● May 19, 2018
If a man hankers for visions, he should do it in public, where it does us some good. second priest: It doesn’t look right, beloved friend, wandering around in the middle of the night.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Customers, he insisted, still hankered after the noise and fury of a conventional motor.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025
Back then, fear of centralism sprang from populists such as William Jennings Bryan, who hankered for easier credit for farmers.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2022
“People have always hankered after a bit of peace and quiet.”
From The Guardian ● Apr. 27, 2019
Some hankered for u-turns in policies; some wanted an entirely new approach to governing.
From Reuters ● Jan. 20, 2017
But what door, what lock, could keep out of a house what someone inside hankered for?
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Under the guise of official business but with a journalist’s hankering for a lead, he interviews relatives and past neighbors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The stories frame the all-consuming desire for retaliation as an integral aspect of our mortal lives; no one gets out without hankering for a bit of vengeance.
From Salon ● May 19, 2026
It’s the absolute goal of every resort operator to satisfy that hankering.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2026
Last spring, the Midwest transplant was hankering to see some wildflowers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books.
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
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.
