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

Returning late from the PBR event to find downtown kitchens largely dark, the hotel lobby bar server overheard that my partner and I were starving. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Mar. 2026

This policy schizophrenia extends to talent; the administration asks for a high-tech solution while its restrictive immigration policies starve California’s industry of the world-class engineers and metallurgists needed to build it. —Markos Kounalakis, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026

For more than 2 years, bombs fell, families were torn apart and people starved and froze to death. —The Know, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026

The masses, demeaned and starved, see in tyranny a tantalizing elixir of equality and self-respect, which will liberate them from élite domination and deliver them from want and anxieties. —Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 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