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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.

hunger strike

¹ American  

noun

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

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hunger-strike ² American  

[huhng-ger-strahyk] / ˈhʌŋ gərˌstraɪk /

verb (used without object)

hunger-struck, hunger-striking

1. to go on a hunger strike.

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hunger strike British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• hunger striker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of hunger strike¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of hunger-strike²

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

In November 2025, the couple embarked on a hunger strike to draw attention to their plight.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Both men have been on hunger strike for the past six days, according to Adalah.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

At UCLA, professors in the Chicana/o and Central American Studies program — its founding dates to a 1993 hunger strike modeled after ones Chávez did — voted to remove his name from the department.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

She had joined a hunger strike starting on February 14 demanding the quick passage of the amnesty bill, which faced repeated delays since Rodriguez proposed it late last month.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

The abandoned jail near the District Jail, where the picketers were confined during a long hunger strike.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Related Words

• fasting