starve
verb
\ ˈstärv
\
\
starved;
starving
Definition of starve
1a
: to perish from lack of food
b
: to suffer extreme hunger
2a
archaic
: to die of cold
b
British
: to suffer greatly from cold
3
: to suffer or perish from deprivation
starved for affection
1a
: 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.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Inuit hunters recalled seeing starving crewmen dragging heavy sledges along the ice, and later finding evidence of cannibalism. — National Geographic, "In 1845 explorers sought the Northwest Passage—then vanished," 8 Aug. 2019 The lines were long, but the burritos could keep a starving college student full for days. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: In honor of San Diego’s 250th, what’s your favorite local landmark?," 2 Aug. 2019 If Nancy Segula’s proposed jail sentence is upheld, the 79-year-old woman could spend more time in jail than persons convicted of killing or starving animals. — Evan Macdonald, cleveland.com, "Garfield Heights woman’s 10-day jail term for feeding cats is harsher than punishment for some who killed or starved pets," 1 Aug. 2019 Their meat fed Native Americans, the starving settlers of Jamestown, and the Lewis and Clark expedition. — Washington Post, "Sturgeon are making a comeback in America’s waterways," 11 July 2019 At first, the galaxy was selected as a model of lower-luminosity active galaxies with starving black holes, which suggests that discs form only when there is enough gas trapped by a black hole. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Hubble spies something mysterious around a supermassive black hole," 11 July 2019 Their meat fed Native Americans, the starving settlers of Jamestown and the Lewis and Clark expedition. — Fox News, "Sturgeon, America's forgotten dinosaurs, are showing signs of life," 10 July 2019 Agrawal wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi impassioned letters, vowing to starve himself to death unless real conservation steps were finally taken. — Paul Salopek, National Geographic, "India’s holiest river is drying up," 9 Aug. 2019 Dad, stepmom charged in starvation death boy in Indiana BLOOMINGTON — A man who carried his son's lifeless body into an Indiana hospital has been charged with murder after an autopsy found that the 12-year-old had been abused and starved to death. — Chicago Tribune, Post-Tribune, "State briefs," 3 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'starve.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for starve
starve
verb
English Language Learners Definition of starve
: to suffer or die from lack of food : to suffer extreme hunger
: to cause (a person or animal) to suffer or die because of lack of food
chiefly US
: to want or need something very much
See the full definition for starve in the English Language Learners Dictionary
starve
verb
\ ˈstärv
\
\
starved;
starving
Kids Definition of starve
1
: to suffer or die or cause to suffer or die from lack of food
2
: to suffer or cause to suffer from a lack of something other than food
The dog was starving for affection.
starve
verb
\ ˈstärv
\
\
starved;
starving
Medical Definition of starve
Keep scrolling for more