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  • hunger strike
    hunger strike
    noun
    a deliberate refusal to eat, undertaken in protest against imprisonment, improper treatment, objectionable conditions, etc.
  • hunger-strike
    hunger-strike
    verb (used without object)
    to go on a hunger strike.
Synonyms

hunger strike

1 American  

noun

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


hunger-strike 2 American  
[huhng-ger-strahyk] / ˈhʌŋ gərˌstraɪk /

verb (used without object)

hunger-struck, hunger-striking
  1. to go on a hunger strike.


hunger strike British  

noun

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

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of hunger strike1

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of hunger-strike2

First recorded in 1910–15

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.

See Examples For:

Gabriela Soto, the wife of Martin Soto, a leader of the hunger strike, recalled her experiences with ICE attempting to move her husband from Delaney Hall, which was ultimately successful.

From Salon Jul. 17, 2026

Craig and Lindsay Foreman have both been on hunger strike since May, when prison authorities preventing them from calling their families.

From BBC Jul. 15, 2026

"It is our duty to raise our voice," the 59-year-old, who remains on hunger strike at the protest site, told AFP.

From Barron's Jul. 8, 2026

Starting on May 19, detainees launched a labor and hunger strike within Delaney Hall, which quickly became a hot spot for anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests and organizing.

From Salon Jun. 29, 2026

The warden threatened that if Alice Paul did not end her hunger strike she would be transferred to Saint Elizabeth’s Insane Asylum.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

She began recounting her story in media interviews and on Palm Sunday 1996 began a weeks-long hunger-strike and vigil in Lafayette Square outside the White House.

From Washington Post Feb. 19, 2021

They conducted a week-long "hunger-strike" in protest, claiming that the British government had not done enough to help their son.

From BBC Oct. 27, 2017

Elshamy's younger brother Mosa'ab, an award-winning independent photojournalist, said on Monday night that the move marked a "huge victory" for the reporter, whom the authorities had denied was undergoing a hunger-strike.

From The Guardian Jun. 16, 2014

“This was a very short hunger-strike and was not widely discussed or reported like most things in Bagram,” he said.

From Newsweek Sep. 2, 2013

"We must have a hunger-strike till he apologises," said the thin hen importantly.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, March 28, 1917 by Various

Italian embassies all over the world are at risk of anarchist attacks linked to the case of the hunger-striking Alfredo Cospito, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.

From Reuters Jan. 31, 2023

JERICHO, West Bank – A Palestinian court on Thursday extended the detention of a hunger-striking Palestinian-American activist who claims she was tortured in captivity.

From Fox News Dec. 6, 2018

Navy Capt. John Robinson, a spokesman for the prison, said in a statement that an 11-year-old military policy permitting the involuntary feeding of hunger-striking detainees remained in effect.

From New York Times Oct. 11, 2017

“We cannot picture Miss Austen addressing, far less interrupting, a public meeting,” Bertha Brewster, a hunger-striking suffragette wrote, “but we can very well imagine her making fun of Mr Arnold Ward’s speeches.”

From Economist Jul. 13, 2017

Mr. Burke allowed all the noble reproach of a hunger-striking suffragist to appear in those blue eyes of his as he looked down at me.

From Miss Million's Maid A Romance of Love and Fortune by Onions, Mrs. Oliver

One day last fortnight, after 650 of the prison's 1,414 prisoners had yammered, clamored and "hunger-struck" against the prison food and discipline, six ringleaders were thrust into "The Klondike."

From Time Magazine Archive

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