pine for

verb

pined for; pining for; pines for
: to feel very sad because one wants (something) or because one is not with (someone)
She was pining for the old days.
He's pining for his college sweetheart.

Examples of pine for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The best native pine for our climate is single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla). Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026 Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco The tiki heyday, the story goes, occurred during the middle of the 20th century, with Americans pining for exotic locales and fruity cocktails. Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 30 Mar. 2026 The legs on both sides of the field were visibly heavy from the 60th minute on, while the Denver faithful of 63,004 pined for a goal. Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 28 Mar. 2026 Along a similar vein, students on campus have pined for more retail spaces to visit within walking distance of campus beyond a Davanni’s Pizza on Grand Avenue. Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pine for

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pine for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pine%20for. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster