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 of famine

• 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

Founded in 1599, the Grassmayr Bell Foundry, in Innsbruck, western Austria, has survived wars, famines, epidemics and economic challenges. — Philipp Jenne, Fortune, 30 July 2026

In the early 1930s, the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty wrote stories denying the famine that Joseph Stalin’s forced-collectivization policies were causing in Ukraine and mocked journalists who reported the truth. — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026

The civil war, in which famine and fighting killed hundreds of thousands, has been paused by a ceasefire since ⁠2022. — Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 26 July 2026

The famine came to define an Irish Catholic identity and thus Irish national politics, at least retrospectively, in opposition to Anglican Britain. — Literary Hub, 24 July 2026

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