pine
noun
any evergreen, conifer of the genus Pinus, having long, needle-shaped leaves, certain species of which yield timber, turpentine, tar, pitch, etc.
pine
1 American
[pahyn]
/ paɪn /
pine
2
American
[pahyn]
/ paɪn /
verb (used without object)
-
pines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pined,
past participle, past
-
pining
present participle
-
to yearn deeply; suffer with longing; long painfully (often followed byfor ).
to pine for one's home and family.
-
to fail gradually in health or vitality from grief, regret, or longing (often followed byaway ).
Separated by their families, the lovers pined away.
-
Archaic. to be discontented; fret.
verb (used with object)
-
pines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pined,
past participle, past
-
pining
present participle
noun
pine
1
British
/ paɪn /
noun
-
any evergreen resinous coniferous tree of the genus Pinus, of the N hemisphere, with long needle-shaped leaves and brown cones: family Pinaceae See also longleaf pine nut pine pitch pine Scots pine
-
any other tree or shrub of the family Pinaceae
-
the wood of any of these trees
-
any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as ground pine and screw pine
pine
2
British
/ paɪn /
verb
-
(intr; often foll by for or an infinitive) to feel great longing or desire; yearn
-
to become ill, feeble, or thin through worry, longing, etc
-
archaic (tr) to mourn or grieve for
Pine
3
British
/ paɪn /
noun
Synonym Usage
See yearn.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pinesimple
-
pinessimple
-
have pinedperfect
-
has pinedperfect
-
am piningprogressive
-
are piningprogressive
-
is piningprogressive
-
have been piningperfect progressive
-
has been piningperfect progressive
Past
-
pinedsimple
-
had pinedperfect
-
was piningprogressive
-
were piningprogressive
-
had been piningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pine1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English pin(e), pigne, Old English pīntrēow “pine tree,” from Old French pin and Latin pīnus
Origin of pine2
First recorded before 900; Middle English pinen “to torture, torment, inflict pain, be in pain”; Old English pīnian “to torture,” derivative of pīn “torture” ( Middle English pine ), from Late Latin pēna, Latin poena “punishment”; see pain
Explanation
If you pine for someone, you desperately want to see them, be with them, or perhaps smother them with kisses. If you're texting your ex-boyfriend over 50 times a day, there's a pretty good chance that you still pine for him. In Old English, pine meant "to torture or cause to experience pain," which seems quite fitting if you've known what it's like to pine for something or someone. The verb pine should not be confused with the noun pine, as in the evergreen tree. If you are from the Northeast and find yourself living in the Caribbean, you may pine for the sight of a pine tree, but the lovely weather should ease the pain.
Vocabulary lists containing pine
Green
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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:
Maya and I spent a lot of time under a pine tree making fairy houses and using our imagination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
A menu, she argued, should not require cooks to spend 18 hours peeling pine nuts simply because the chef wants to demonstrate technical skill.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Terpenes such as pinene from pine trees, for example, can participate in reactions that generate tiny airborne particles.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
"The greys are a little bit stupid and will say 'hello, I haven't seen you before' and the pine marten will get them!"
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Akira picked the biggest pine tree she could and started to climb.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
The other is Lone Pine Canyon Road, where the quarry would be located.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
The events I detected were in two clusters, near Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Pine plantations are started with several hundred seedlings an acre.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The series of switchbacks with hairpin turns offer a satisfying run up to Pine Mountain Summit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Pine Knob was okay to blow up bottles, but it was impractical for a rocket range.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
She stopped in the middle of the woods during a walk, looked with disapproval at my light jacket, and threw her hands up in mock confusion, surveying the snow-encrusted pines.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
The area around present-day Shangri-La began to grow rich as Drolma’s family and other ethnic Tibetans jumped into harvesting the mushrooms, which grow naturally on the oaks and pines of the Eastern Himalayas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
The coastline is lined with maritime pines, originally planted under Napoleon III to shield local villages from advancing dunes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Moist vegetation needs to be planted among the pines, he said, and bigger fire buffer zones are needed on each town’s outer edges, such as ball fields or livestock pastures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
JimmyTrotter had already taken what he needed and was crossing the field, heading into the pines.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
He pined for more: “I’d be micro-editing PowerPoint presentations and thinking, ‘What am I doing with my life?’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
And you can expect more such details to surface as we finally get the Succession epilogue its fans have pined for, with a Tom Wambsgans type in charge.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2026
That’s something Latino residents have long pined for, to join the seats held by Imelda Padilla and Monica Rodriguez.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2024
Yet, there is one thing that Manilow has always pined for and now inspires some irrational fears: a Broadway show.
From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2023
We’d sung along with any group or singer who joined us through speakers as the bass boomed low and the treble pined high.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Before many learned Walter might be interested in selling the team quickly, Kushner and Iger, already pining for an NBA franchise, jumped at the opportunity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
In Lagos, Itoro is still pining for his family.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Instead, young women are pining for throwback, off-road SUVs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
The lack of a son’s POV makes Boy Mom pining both performative and disturbingly real.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
“And here I thought you’d be pining away for me.”
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
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.
