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

tried to starve the enemy into submission

2

: to destroy by or cause to suffer from deprivation

starved the program of funds

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

Right now, cities are starved of revenue because large commercial property owners are paying artificially low, outdated tax rates and that holds back local investment in schools, housing and infrastructure. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026

Instead of saturating or starving the active sites, this configuration supports a more optimal balance between how quickly reactants arrive and how efficiently they are converted, improving overall catalytic performance. —Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026

Whale biologists generally hold that a whale that repeatedly strands itself usually has severe underlying health issues; even towing it back out to deeper waters may not keep it from starving or drowning. —Jessica Camille Aguirre, New Yorker, 2 May 2026

That, perhaps, is because Infantino now seems to live in a world sheltered from reality, a world far removed from everyday folks who are, say, furious about World Cup ticket prices or, say, starving and struggling to survive. —Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 1 May 2026

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