starve

verb

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
2
: to destroy by or cause to suffer from deprivation
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 The court consumed the wealth of France, starving its populace (who, of course, eventually rebelled) and, along the way, smothering its queen, who, in her way, also rebelled, albeit behind the walls of power. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024 If ocean temperatures remain too high for too long, the coral can starve and die. Laura Paddison, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Prosecutors also believe they were starved and often tied up in the bathtub for long periods of time with the door locked. Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024 The aid drop on Thursday is part of a dramatic and desperate effort to get food to Gaza's starving population as Israel allows only a trickle of aid to enter through the country's sole working land border. Jane Arraf, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 Soho House wants starving artists that don’t have the money. Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2024 All but one had been starved. Inside the shed, police investigators found a machete, a homemade electrical prod, crossbow arrows, aluminum bats, and several other weapons. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2024 That will starve the spacecraft of energy, and its batteries will drain. Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Already, the war has driven around 80% of the Palestinians in Gaza from their homes and has left a quarter of the population starving, according to U.N. officials. Wahaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'starve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of starve was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near starve

Cite this Entry

“Starve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starve. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

starve

verb
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
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

More from Merriam-Webster on starve

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