pine

1 of 2

noun

ˈpīn 

often attributive

1

: any of a genus (Pinus of the family Pinaceae, the pine family) of coniferous evergreen trees that have slender elongated needles and include some valuable timber trees and ornamentals

2

: the straight-grained white or yellow usually durable and resinous wood of a pine varying from extreme softness in the white pine to hardness in the longleaf pine

3

: any of various Australian coniferous trees (as of the genera Callitris or Araucaria)

4

: pineapple

5

: bench sense 1c

piney adjective

or less commonly piny

ˈpī-nē 

pine

2 of 2

verb

pined; pining

intransitive verb

1

: to lose vigor, health, or flesh (as through grief) : languish

2

: to yearn intensely and persistently especially for something unattainable

they still pined for their lost wealth

Synonyms of pine

Verb

• crave
• die (for)
• want
• long (for)
• repine (for)
• wish (for)
• sigh (for)
• yen (for)
• thirst (for)
• salivate (for)
• pant (after)
• hunger (for)
• lust (for or after)
• itch (for)
• jones (for)
• ache (for)

Choose the Right Synonym for pine

long, yearn, hanker, pine, hunger, thirst mean to have a strong desire for something.

long implies a wishing with one's whole heart and often a striving to attain.

longed for some rest

yearn suggests an eager, restless, or painful longing.

yearned for a stage career

hanker suggests the uneasy promptings of unsatisfied appetite or desire.

always hankering for money

pine implies a languishing or a fruitless longing for what is impossible.

pined for a lost love

hunger and thirst imply an insistent or impatient craving or a compelling need.

hungered for a business of his own

thirsted for power

Examples of pine in a Sentence

Verb

pining for a house in the mountains

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Two teenagers, aided by an arborist, climbed a 100-foot pine tree outside a Pasadena high school Saturday to dramatize a campaign to stop a soil remediation project calling for the removal of nearly 200 trees at several school campuses. — Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026

Kilroy, who survived a childhood bout with cancer, was fascinated by the stunted pine trees that dotted the mountaintop. — John Blake, CNN Money, 19 July 2026

Verb

Ten years on, after devising the victorious Trojan Horse gambit, Ulysses attempts to return to Ithaca and the pining Penelope, whose palace has been overrun with scheming suitors seeking her hand. — Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, 16 July 2026

Shimmering pools, yellow bikes with butterfly handles, and rushed glances over tall fields of grass produce enough pining between Sonya and Coley to fuel a thousand AIM drafts. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 16 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English pīn, from Latin pinus; probably akin to Greek pitys pine

Verb

Middle English, from Old English pīnian to suffer, from *pīn punishment, from Latin poena — more at pain entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pine

• Australian pine
• Austrian pine
• bristlecone pine
• eastern white pine
• ground pine
• hard pine
• heart pine
• jack pine
• Jeffrey pine
• Jersey pine
• knotty pine
• limber pine
• loblolly pine
• lodgepole pine
• longleaf pine
• long-leaved pine
• Monterey pine
• mugho pine
• Norfolk Island pine
• pine after
• pine away
• pine cone
• pine for
• pine kernel
• pine marten
• pine nut
• pine siskin
• pine snake
• pine tar
• pitch pine
• ponderosa pine
• red pine
• Scotch pine
• Scots pine
• screw pine
• scrub pine
• shortleaf pine
• slash pine
• spruce pine
• sugar pine
• Virginia pine
• white pine
• white-pine blister rust
• yellow pine

Rhymes for pine

• brine
• chine
• cline
• dine
• fein
• fine
• gwine
• hine
• jain
• klein
• kline
• line

Kids Definition

pine

1 of 2 verb

ˈpīn 

pined; pining

1

: to lose energy, health, or weight through grief, worry, or distress

pine away

2

: to long for very much

pine

2 of 2 noun

1

: any of a genus of evergreen trees that have narrow needles for leaves, cones, and wood ranging from very soft to hard and that include valuable timber trees as well as many ornamentals

2

: the white or yellow wood of a pine

piney adjective

also piny

ˈpī-nē

Medical Definition

pine

1 of 2 noun

ˈpīn 

: any tree of the genus Pinus

pine

2 of 2 noun

: a dietary deficiency disease of sheep or cattle marked by anemia, malnutrition, and general debility

specifically : such a disease due to cobalt deficiency compare morton mains disease