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

But Israel’s decision to sharply limit and sometimes entirely block aid to Gaza pushed the enclave into famine this year. —Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025

Halloween grew in popularity in America during the 1840s with the mass migration of Scottish and Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine, Morton said. —Chris Kenning, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025

As our tools have become more efficient, our sense of time famine — the feeling that there’s never enough time — has only intensified. —Arianna Huffington, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025

Alongside famine and disease, the fall in the Taíno population was linked to waning fertility rates, partly due to attacks on Taíno villages. —Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 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