starve
starve Lexical Profile
starve Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To suffer severely or die from a prolonged lack of food.
"Without emergency humanitarian aid, thousands of villagers in the drought-stricken region could starve."
To feel very hungry (used hyperbolically, especially in the progressive form).
"After hiking all morning without breakfast, we were starting to starve by noon."
To cause a person or animal to suffer or die by withholding food.
"Cruel animal owners who deliberately starve their pets face severe legal penalties."
To deprive someone or something of an essential resource, quality, or support needed to thrive.
"Prolonged budget cuts can starve public schools of the resources needed to support students."
• Rhymes for starve
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'steorfan', meaning to die (of any cause), related to German 'sterben' (to die). Over the Middle English period, the meaning narrowed specifically to dying from exposure to cold or lack of food.