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:
One woman, Amanda, unexpectedly bowls him over, and as lust is replaced by love the pair become engaged—much to the horror of her wealthy English parents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“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
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
Like not a few of those seduced by the wild, McCandless seems to have been driven by a variety of lust that supplanted sexual desire.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
The half-crazed King, magnificently sung by the ever-disruptive Timur, lusts after Salome by speaking and singing at different speeds he selects on a metronome, as he entices her to type for him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 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
The wine industry lusts after millennials, as baby boomers, its core customer base, age into retirement.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 17, 2022
Lady Bird lusts after this home throughout the film and, on Thanksgiving, gets a look inside because it’s owned by her boyfriend’s grandmother.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 24, 2018
What if their lusts for war and glory and power are mine too and I just don't know it?
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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 while I’ve long lusted over hand-built fountains and elaborate ponds, I’m a klutz when it comes to building things from scratch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2024
The casino industry has long lusted after New York City, with its estimated 8.5 million residents and global appeal as a tourist destination.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2022
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
“Tell me true,” Ser Barristan said, “did you ever love her, even a little? Or was it just the crown you lusted for?”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Teams are always lusting for special athletes who can affect the quarterback, and just about every team picking fifth to 10th could make the case for why Wilson is their guy.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2023
From Elon Musk to Richard Branson, the wealthiest man on Earth follows a long line of exorbitantly wealthy men lusting for space travel.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2021
I will never stop lusting for a good bite.
From New York Times ● Jul. 10, 2020
There are a more select handful who have now become potentially good friends through various kinds of conversation—online and IRL—whom I’m not sure I am really capable of lusting after.
From Slate ● Nov. 22, 2019
So I go about all day, haunted all the time, raging, lusting for my task.
From The Journal of Arthur Stirling : the Valley of the Shadow by Upton Sinclair
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
