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
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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
With no desire to restore cars and a hankering to entertain, he started researching restaurants, whiskey bars and speakeasies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 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
Studies also indicate that for some people, cravings for highly palatable foods go well beyond just a normal hankering for a snack and are, in fact, signs of addictive behavior.
From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025
Somewhere along the line—in one damn incarnation or another, if you like—you not only had a hankering to be an actor or an actress but to be a good one.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
