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starving

 - 5 dictionary results

starve

  [stahrv] verb, starved, starv⋅ing.
–verb (used without object)
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)
7. to cause to starve; kill, weaken, or reduce by lack of food.
8. to subdue, or force to some condition or action, by hunger: to starve a besieged garrison into a surrender.
9. to cause to suffer for lack of something needed or craved.
10. Chiefly British Dialect. to cause to perish, or to suffer extremely, from cold.
Use starving in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME sterven, OE steorfan to die; c. G sterben
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To starving
starve   (stärv)   
v.   starved, starv·ing, starves

v.   intr.

  1. To suffer or die from extreme or prolonged lack of food.

  2. Informal To be hungry.

  3. To suffer from deprivation.

  4. Archaic To suffer or die from cold.

v.   tr.

  1. To cause to starve.

  2. To force to a specified state by starving.


[Middle English sterven, to die, from Old English steorfan; see ster-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

starve 
O.E. steorfan "to die" (pt. stearf, pp. storfen), from P.Gmc. *sterban "be stiff" (cf. O.Fris. sterva, Du. sterven, O.H.G. sterban "to die," O.N. stjarfi "tetanus"), from PIE base *ster- "stiff, rigid" (cf. Gk. sterphnios "stiff, rigid," sterphos "hide, skin," O.C.S. strublu "strong, hard;" see stare). The conjugation became weak in Eng. by 16c. The sense narrowed to "die of cold" (14c.); meaning "to kill with hunger" is first recorded 1530 (earlier to starve of hunger, 1124). Intrans. sense of "to die of hunger" dates from 1578. Ger. cognate sterben retains the original sense of the word, but the Eng. has come so far from its origins that starve to death (1910) is now common. Starvation (1778) is a hybrid, with a L. ending, apparently first used in ref. to British policies toward rebellious New England colonies.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: starve
Pronunciation: 'stärv
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: starved; starv·ing
intransitive senses
1 : to perish from lack of food
2 : to suffer extreme hunger starve transitive senses
1 : to kill with hunger
2 : todeprive of nourishment
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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starve (stärv)
v. starved, starv·ing, starves

  1. To suffer or die from extreme or prolonged lack of food.

  2. To deprive of food so as to cause suffering or death.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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