hunger

American  

[huhng-ger] / ˈhʌŋ gər /

noun

1. a compelling need or desire for food.

2. the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food.

   to collapse from hunger.

3. a shortage of food; famine.

4. a strong or compelling desire or craving.

   hunger for power.

   Synonyms:

   itch, lust, greed, appetite

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verb (used without object)

1. to feel hunger; be hungry.

2. to have a strong desire.

verb (used with object)

1. Rare. to subject to hunger; starve.

idioms

1. from hunger, deplorably bad; dreadful: Also strictly from hunger.

   The styles in coats this winter are from hunger.

hunger British  

/ ˈhʌŋɡə /

noun

1. a feeling of pain, emptiness, or weakness induced by lack of food

2. an appetite, desire, need, or craving

   hunger for a woman

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verb

1. to have or cause to have a need or craving for food

2. (intr; usually foll by for or after) to have a great appetite or desire (for)

Other Word Forms

• half-hungered adjective
• hungeringly adverb
• prehunger noun

Etymology

Origin of hunger

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hungor; cognate with German Hunger

Example Sentences

My father spent the 1970s selling hunger to America: soda, waffles, chips, anything that promised satisfaction in 30 seconds flat.

From Los Angeles Times

As long as this hunger continues and audiences show up for “The Faithful,” the producers have a wealth of stories to tell beyond the great matriarchs.

From Los Angeles Times

However, earlier studies suggest that ultra-processed foods tend to be high in calories, added sugars and fats, and may affect hunger and metabolism.

From Science Daily

The drought also affected a vast stretch of land across East Africa, leaving some 26 million people "facing extreme hunger" in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, according to humanitarian organisation Oxfam.

From BBC

The rush to build artificial-intelligence data centers across the globe, on the other hand, will increase the hunger for power, and any fuel available.

From Barron's

Related Words

• craving
• desire
• famine
• greed
• longing
• lust
• starvation
• yearning