starve

[stahrv]

verb (used without object)

starved, starving 

1. to die or perish from lack of food or nourishment.

2. to be in the process of perishing or suffering severely from hunger.

3. to suffer from extreme poverty and need.

4. to feel a strong need or desire.

   The child was starving for affection.

5. Chiefly British Dialect.,  to perish or suffer extremely from cold.

6. Obsolete.,  to die.

verb (used with object)

starved, starving 

1. to cause to starve; kill, weaken, or reduce by lack of food.

2. to subdue, or force to some condition or action, by hunger.

   to starve a besieged garrison into a surrender.

3. to cause to suffer for lack of something needed or craved.

4. Chiefly British Dialect.,  to cause to perish, or to suffer extremely, from cold.

starve

/ stɑːv /

verb

1. to die or cause to die from lack of food

2. to deprive (a person or animal) or (of a person, etc) to be deprived of food

3. informal,  (intr) to be very hungry

4. to deprive or be deprived (of something necessary), esp so as to cause suffering or malfunctioning

   the engine was starved of fuel

5. to bring (to) a specified condition by starving

   to starve someone into submission

6. archaic,  to be or cause to be extremely cold

Other Word Forms

• half-starved adjective
• half-starving adjective
• self-starved adjective
• unstarved adjective
• starver noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of starve¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English sterven, Old English steorfan “to die”; cognate with German sterben

Word History and Origins

Origin of starve¹

Old English steorfan to die; related to Old Frisian sterva to die, Old High German sterban to die

Synonym Study

See hungry.

Example Sentences

Experts say wolves attack humans or livestock only as a last resort when they are starving, preferring less dangerous prey such as small antelopes.

Read more on Barron's

U.S. shipping companies, which are generally required to hire Americans, say they are starved of crews.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She added: "I have no doubt that if this defendant was genuinely starving and had asked Mr Mackey for help, this kind, generous gentleman would have assisted him."

Read more on BBC

“With consumer sentiment weakening and the market starved for real-time signals, the mall becomes the macro,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a weekend note.

Read more on MarketWatch

Treasury Department claimed success this week, saying that the sanctions were “starving Putin’s war machine.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cease 
• forgo 
• pass up 
• quit 
• refrain 
• renounce 
• shun 
• withhold