verb

starve

stahv

verb

To suffer or die from lack of food.

"Crops failed for three straight years, and many people starved."

"The stranded hikers feared they would starve before help arrived."

To be extremely hungry, often used informally as exaggeration.

"I'm starving — is dinner ready yet?"

To deprive someone or something of food, attention, or another vital need.

"The siege was meant to starve the city into surrender."

How to Use Starve

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo suffer badly (or die) from lack of food, or informally, to be very hungry.

When to use it

"I'm starving" for mild hunger is casual, everyday exaggeration, not literal.

Common pairings

starve to death starving for attention starve someone out

Word Forms

starved past tense, starven past tense, starve plural, starved plural, starves singular, starve singular, starved singular, starvest singular, starvedst singular, starveth singular

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Crops failed for three straight years, and many people _____.

Etymology

From Old English steorfan, "to die," related to German sterben ("to die") — the narrower sense of dying from hunger developed later in English.

Rhymes for starve

carve

See all rhymes for starve →