appetite

noun

ap·​pe·​tite ˈa-pə-ˌtīt 

1

: any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life

especially : the desire to eat

He has a hearty appetite.

2

a

: an inherent craving

an insatiable appetite for work

b

: taste, preference

… the cultural appetites of the time …

—J. D. Hart

appetitive

ˈa-pə-ˌtī-tiv 

adjective

Synonyms of appetite

• hunger
• stomach
• craving

Examples of appetite in a Sentence

He has a healthy appetite.

Some common symptoms are tiredness, nausea, and loss of appetite.

I had no appetite and couldn't sleep.

Recent Examples on the Web

The controversial 1974 cult classic Death Wish was a milestone film in the vigilante justice genre that lives on everywhere today, from Batman films to John Wick, feeding audiences’ insatiable appetite for the everyman pushed to the brink who finally takes matters into his own hands. —Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025

Design websites have been on an upward swing since the COVID-19 pandemic ignited an appetite for all things home. —Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 13 Nov. 2025

Yet, the political appetite for military investments is shrinking as debt dominates the fiscal picture and populist tendencies make $2,000 revenue checks or rent control more popular. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 13 Nov. 2025

Because of their appetite for pests and their eggs, having ladybugs in the garden reduces the need for chemical pesticides. —Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 13 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English appetit, appetite "inherent drive or urge (in physiology), desire for food or drink, longing," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French appetit, apetite (also continental Old French apetit), borrowed from Latin appetītus "natural or instinctive desire," from appetī-, variant stem of appetere "to try to reach, have a natural desire for, seek to obtain, strive after" (from ap- ap- + petere "to direct one's course to, seek to obtain") + -tu-, -tus, suffix of action nouns — more at feather entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing appetite

• hearty appetite
• lose one's appetite
• ravenous appetite
• whet one's appetite

Rhymes for appetite

• acolyte
• aconite
• allanite
• alunite
• amberlite
• ammonite
• amorite
• amphitrite
• analyte
• anchorite
• andesite
• anhydrite

Kids Definition

appetite

noun

ap·​pe·​tite ˈap-ə-ˌtīt 

1

: a natural desire especially for food

2

: taste entry 2 sense 4

an appetite for adventure

Medical Definition

appetite

noun

ap·​pe·​tite ˈap-ə-ˌtīt 

: any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life

especially : the desire to eat

appetitive

-ˌtīt-iv 

adjective