starve

verb

ˈstärv 

starved; starving

intransitive verb

1

a

: to perish from lack of food

b

: to suffer extreme hunger

2

a

archaic : to die of cold

b

British : to suffer greatly from cold

3

: to suffer or perish from deprivation

starved for affection

transitive verb

1

a

: to kill with hunger

b

: to deprive of nourishment

c

: to cause to capitulate by or as if by depriving of nourishment

2

: to destroy by or cause to suffer from deprivation

3

archaic : to kill with cold

Examples of starve in a Sentence

Without food they would starve.

They left him to starve out in the desert.

providing food for starving children

They tried to starve their enemies into submission.

It was clear that the dog had been starved.

You don't have to starve yourself to lose weight.

Recent Examples on the Web

Then came a reckoning. December 5, 2023 What home schooling hides: A boy tortured and starved by his stepmom December 2, 2023 Their sons’ lives ended in gunfire. —Michael S. Williamson, Washington Post, 22 June 2024

Those who are starving are the Masalit, Fur, and Zaghawa ethnic groups that the RSF has targeted for ethnic cleansing—or on whose lands Hemedti’s fighters have taken everything that can be stolen or eaten. —Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2024

The boy had been tortured and starved by his stepfather and mother while the child was missing from school for more than a month, prosecutors said. —Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 14 June 2024

Every month since Sudan’s catastrophic civil war erupted in April 2023, the news has gotten worse — ever more people displaced, starved or killed. —Declan Walsh, New York Times, 14 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sterven to die, starve, from Old English steorfan to die; akin to Old High German sterban to die, and probably to Lithuanian starinti to stiffen — more at stare

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing starve

• starve to death

Kids Definition

starve

verb

ˈstärv 

starved; starving

1

: to suffer or die or cause to suffer or die from lack of food

2

: to suffer or die or cause to suffer or die from a lack of something other than food

a child starving for affection

Etymology

Old English steorfan "to die (from any cause)"

Medical Definition

starve

verb

ˈstärv 

starved; starving

intransitive verb

1

: to perish from lack of food

2

: to suffer extreme hunger

transitive verb

1

: to kill with hunger

2

: to deprive of nourishment