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

Upwards of half a million Gaza residents are now starving amid famine conditions, in part due to Israeli restrictions on aid, according to United Nations officials. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025

The lyrics of other songs, of course, were mere meals for some starving rodent. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2025

That water can flood the porous layers that deliver oxygen to reaction sites, starving the cell and killing output. —Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025

The move follows a global outcry against Israel's escalation of its offensive in Gaza, which has left large numbers of Palestinians starving and generally dire humanitarian conditions. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Sep. 2025

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

Rhymes for starve

• carve

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