hunger

[ huhng-ger ]
See synonyms for: hungerhungeredhungering on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a compelling need or desire for food.

  2. the painful sensation or state of weakness caused by the need of food: to collapse from hunger.

  1. a shortage of food; famine.

  2. a strong or compelling desire or craving: hunger for power.

verb (used without object)
  1. to feel hunger; be hungry.

  2. to have a strong desire.

verb (used with object)
  1. Rare. to subject to hunger; starve.

Idioms about hunger

  1. from hunger, Slang. deplorably bad; dreadful: The styles in coats this winter are from hunger.: Also strictly from hunger.

Origin of hunger

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English hungor; cognate with German Hunger

Other words for hunger

Other words from hunger

  • hun·ger·ing·ly, adverb
  • half-hungered, adjective
  • pre·hun·ger, noun

Words Nearby hunger

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hunger in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hunger

hunger

/ (ˈhʌŋɡə) /


noun
  1. a feeling of pain, emptiness, or weakness induced by lack of food

  2. an appetite, desire, need, or craving: hunger for a woman

verb
  1. to have or cause to have a need or craving for food

  2. (intr; usually foll by for or after) to have a great appetite or desire (for)

Origin of hunger

1
Old English hungor; related to Old High German hungar, Old Norse hungr, Gothic hūhrus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012