hunger-strike

¹

[huhng-ger-strahyk]

verb (used without object)

hunger-struck, hunger-striking 

1. to go on a hunger strike.

hunger strike

²

noun

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

hunger strike

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• hunger striker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hunger-strike¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Origin of hunger-strike²

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

A grieving Serbian mother reached her 16th day of a hunger strike Monday, becoming a new focal point of the country's rumbling protest movement even as fears grow for her health.

Read more on Barron's

By the next month, immigrants inside the 2,500 capacity facility launched a hunger strike protesting conditions.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A British couple detained in Iran for nearly a year on suspicion of espionage have gone on hunger strike having "lost all hope", a relative said on Thursday.

Read more on Barron's

A British couple jailed in Iran after being accused of espionage have gone on hunger strike in a "cry out for help", their son has told the BBC.

Read more on BBC

Prominent Tunisian opposition figures including Rached Ghannouchi said Friday they would go on hunger strike in solidarity with a jailed politician whose health they say has severely deteriorated after nine days without food.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• fasting www.thesaurus.com