famine

noun

fam·​ine ˈfa-mən 

1

: an extreme scarcity of food

The famine affected most of the country.

2

archaic : starvation

3

archaic : a ravenous appetite

4

: a great shortage

Transportation problems resulted in a coal famine.

Synonyms

• shortage
• lack
• drought

Examples of famine in a Sentence

The famine affected half the continent.

millions killed by war, drought, and famine

Recent Examples on the Web

Last year, the UN declared a famine in western Sudan, the first such declaration anywhere in years. —Claire Cameron, semafor.com, 28 Sep. 2025

Netanyahu's speech came as Israeli forced assaulted Gaza City amid famine conditions in the coastal territory. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025

Too little or too much water meant either drought or the wrong kind of flood, which in turn led to famine and disease. —Vanessa Taylor, Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025

The social, cultural, and economic effects of climate change will be recorded not on hunger stones, but in pandemics, wars, famines, and genocides exacerbated by the effects of higher temperatures. —Ed Simon september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from feim, faim hunger, from Latin fames

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for famine

• gammon
• mammon
• backgammon
• examen
• examine
• glutamine
• reexamine

Kids Definition

famine

noun

fam·​ine ˈfam-ən 

1

: an extreme general shortage of food

2

: a great shortage