hunger-strike

[huhng-ger-strahyk]

verb (used without object), hun·ger-struck, hun·ger-strik·ing.

to go on a hunger strike.

Origin of hunger-strike

First recorded in 1910–15

Related formshunger striker, noun

hunger strike

noun

a deliberate refusal to eat, undertaken in protest against imprisonment, improper treatment, objectionable conditions, etc.

Origin of hunger strike

First recorded in 1885–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hunger-strike

fasting

Examples from the Web for hunger-strike

Contemporary Examples of hunger-strike

Two days ago the news of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian prisoners to end the hunger-strike broke.
Prisoners of Process
Hanan Ashrawi
May 16, 2012

Historical Examples of hunger-strike

Not that I think the hunger-strike is altogether a futile invention.
Post-Impressions
Simeon Strunsky
"That is the essence of a hunger-strike," said the thin hen.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, March 28, 1917
Various
It appeared that she had conducted a hunger-strike of her own for the last twenty-four hours; and I think she looked it.
The Sixth Sense
Stephen McKenna
"We must have a hunger-strike till he apologises," said the thin hen importantly.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, March 28, 1917
Various
It was bringing to perfection its last great tactical manoeuvre, the massed raid followed by the hunger-strike in prison.
The Tree of Heaven
May Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for hunger-strike

hunger strike

noun

a voluntary fast undertaken, usually by a prisoner, as a means of protest

Derived Formshunger striker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012