hankering
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
- hankeringly adverb
Etymology
Origin of hankering
Explanation
A hankering is a strong desire for something. If you have a hankering for pizza, you really want some pizza. This is a folksy, informal word that means about the same thing as yearning. When you have a hankering, you want something. Often, people use this word for food, as in "I have a hankering for sushi!" You could have a hankering for football season, a new pair of shoes, or a trip to the beach. Anything you want could spawn a hankering. This word is related to a sense of hanker that means to want or crave something.
Vocabulary lists containing hankering
An Excerpt from "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead
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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.
It’s the absolute goal of every resort operator to satisfy that hankering.
From Slate • Apr. 11, 2026
And distributors, dizzy from years of surprises and disruption, are hankering for a universally appealing, tried-and-true marketing campaign, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
The trend toward extravagance dovetailed nicely with the emergence of baby boomers and older Gen X–ers with more disposable income, the hankering for less-traveled international locales and a generational shift toward more creature comforts.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 28, 2025
Has there been a classic Sondheim role he’s been hankering to do?
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2023
On the day after Gram was buried, her friend Gloria—the one Gram thought was so much like Phoebe, and the one who had a hankering for Gramps—came to visit Gramps.
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
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.
