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

The fighting threatens to reignite a war that for more than a decade brought disaster to Yemen, killing more than 150,000 people and driving the country to the brink of famine. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

The Bengal famine, in which some three million people, Hindus and Muslims, starved to death, was, as many have argued, caused in part by wartime disruptions to grain supplies and by imperial policy. — Faisal Devji, Time, 11 Sep. 2026

The conflict killed 150,000 and brought many others to the brink of famine. — Fatma Khaled, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Instead, when exposed to the same influx of nutrients, bacteria that had just experienced a feast-and-famine environment adapted much faster than bacteria coming from a stable environment. — Shiladitya Banerjee, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 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