lust
Americannoun
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intense sexual desire or appetite.
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uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite; lecherousness.
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a passionate or overmastering desire or craving (usually followed byfor ).
a lust for power.
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ardent enthusiasm; zest; relish.
an enviable lust for life.
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Obsolete.
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pleasure or delight.
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desire; inclination; wish.
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noun
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a strong desire for sexual gratification
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a strong desire or drive
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lustsimple
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lustssimple
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have lustedperfect
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has lustedperfect
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am lustingprogressive
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are lustingprogressive
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is lustingprogressive
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have been lustingperfect progressive
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has been lustingperfect progressive
Past
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lustedsimple
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had lustedperfect
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was lustingprogressive
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were lustingprogressive
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had been lustingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lust
First recorded before 900; Middle English luste, Old English lust; cognate with Dutch, German Lust “pleasure, desire”; akin to Old Norse lyst “desire”; see list 4
Explanation
Lust is a strong craving for sex. It also can mean a hunger for anything, like lust for power. While lust isn't a dirty word, it is a strong word. You don't have lust for something you don't really care about. Lust is a strong, powerful desire, whether it's a noun or verb: you lust for things you deeply crave. Someone greedy lusts for money. Someone gluttonous lusts for food. The most basic meaning of lust is an unquenchable desire for sex, but people lust for all sorts of things.
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:
“Citizen Kane” posited that all media moguls are driven by a lust for power that stems from an irreparable brokenness.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
That so-called lust for life looks a lot like a death wish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Celtic have not been a good team this season, but they've shown a lust for battle, an ability to keep playing and winning even when their performances have never risen above the mundane.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
The lust for vengeance eventually gets the better of him, but Swenson leads us step by step to depravity through sorrow, injustice and humiliation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026
On the surface of it, Poppea is about lust and ambition conquering all, with poor old virtue, decency and good governance being jettisoned in the process.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
We only know them through the prism of men: Jane lusts after Yoga Dude, Coco rages at Roger, Sophie is bullied by her boss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
She loathes the former and lusts after the latter, and her heightened emotions and cabaret dreams swell to a magnificent, hysterical crescendo unlike Broadway has ever seen.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2025
In “The Laughter,” an aging, white English professor lusts after his younger, Pakistani colleague.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
The wine industry lusts after millennials, as baby boomers, its core customer base, age into retirement.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 17, 2022
"My father is the soul of avarice, and my sweet sister Cersei lusts for power with every waking breath. I, however, am innocent as a little lamb. Shall I bleat for you?"
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
It’s why, for years, I lusted over the Omega Speedmaster Professional — famously the first watch to go to the moon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
In suggesting the price was a smidge too high, the streamer tells us it never really lusted after Warner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
And the advantage won’t just go to Bellevue but to every city that has lusted for Seattle’s treasures.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2021
Scientists and doctors have long lusted after the regenerative powers of flatworms — not precisely with the goal of growing new heads, but of healing spinal cord damage and other serious injuries.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2020
The pad on the inside of his palm lusted for the gripe of the hilt His whole arm remembered the balance of Joyeux and wanted to wag him in the air.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
That it was a happy accident hasn’t stopped others in the industry from lusting after the recipe, of course.
From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
Currently, I've got the "spice" colored pan, but I find myself lusting after the new "acid" green pan to herald in spring.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2022
On the field, the players will be as fervent as they ever were, lusting for success, trying on stardom but still young and rehearsing for adulthood.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2021
He is also a serial abuser of the truth, a hack whose creative pursuits mostly flop, a failed businessman lusting after a buck and a dysfunctional family man.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2021
“What’s it like,” I pleaded, lusting for the unholy knowledge, “in hell?”
From Doctor Luke of the Labrador by Norman Duncan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
