starved; starving
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
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
To survive, vampire bats practice reciprocal altruism, sharing regurgitated blood with starving roost-mates—a rare and complex social behavior in the animal kingdom.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
Listen to this article Sean Payton, bless him, possesses all the gooey nostalgia of a starving polar bear.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2025
Based on those numbers, Enrich projected that, if the cutbacks are not restored and other donors do not step in, each year:
1 million starving children won't have access to food and nutrition.
—Melody Schreiber, NPR, 10 Mar. 2025
Us sitting here feeling guilty about people who share our heritage but are starving or suffering somewhere — what does that do for them?
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for starve
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Scott Travers, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
Listen to this article Sean Payton, bless him, possesses all the gooey nostalgia of a starving polar bear.
—Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2025
Based on those numbers, Enrich projected that, if the cutbacks are not restored and other donors do not step in, each year:
1 million starving children won't have access to food and nutrition.
—Melody Schreiber, NPR, 10 Mar. 2025
Us sitting here feeling guilty about people who share our heritage but are starving or suffering somewhere — what does that do for them?
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for starve
Cite this Entry
“Starve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starve. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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