pine

1 of 2

noun

ˈpīn 

often attributive

1

: any of a genus (Pinus of the family Pinaceae, the pine family) of coniferous evergreen trees that have slender elongated needles and include some valuable timber trees and ornamentals

2

: the straight-grained white or yellow usually durable and resinous wood of a pine varying from extreme softness in the white pine to hardness in the longleaf pine

3

: any of various Australian coniferous trees (as of the genera Callitris or Araucaria)

4

: pineapple

5

: bench sense 1c

piney adjective

or less commonly piny

ˈpī-nē 

pine

2 of 2

verb

pined; pining

intransitive verb

1

: to lose vigor, health, or flesh (as through grief) : languish

2

: to yearn intensely and persistently especially for something unattainable

they still pined for their lost wealth

Synonyms

Verb

• ache (for)
• covet
• crave
• desiderate
• desire
• die (for)
• hanker (for or after)
• hunger (for)
• itch (for)
• jones (for) [slang]
• long (for)
• lust (for or after)
• pant (after)
• repine (for)
• salivate (for)
• sigh (for)
• thirst (for)
• want
• wish (for)
• yearn (for)
• yen (for)

Choose the Right Synonym for pine

long, yearn, hanker, pine, hunger, thirst mean to have a strong desire for something.

long implies a wishing with one's whole heart and often a striving to attain.

longed for some rest

yearn suggests an eager, restless, or painful longing.

yearned for a stage career

hanker suggests the uneasy promptings of unsatisfied appetite or desire.

always hankering for money

pine implies a languishing or a fruitless longing for what is impossible.

pined for a lost love

hunger and thirst imply an insistent or impatient craving or a compelling need.

hungered for a business of his own

thirsted for power

Examples of pine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

There’s an opportunity to help monitor white-bark pine forests for disease, pests and climate impacts in Nevada ($18 an hour), and another to build and maintain trails in New Hampshire’s White Mountains ($19 an hour). —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024

Scuttling under the pines at a plantation in the highlands of Tanzania, a long critter took a step. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English pīn, from Latin pinus; probably akin to Greek pitys pine

Verb

Middle English, from Old English pīnian to suffer, from *pīn punishment, from Latin poena — more at pain entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pine

• Australian pine
• Austrian pine
• bristlecone pine
• eastern white pine
• ground pine
• hard pine
• heart pine
• jack pine
• Jeffrey pine
• Jersey pine
• knotty pine
• limber pine
• loblolly pine
• lodgepole pine
• longleaf pine
• long-leaved pine
• Monterey pine
• mugho pine
• Norfolk Island pine
• pine after
• pine away
• pine cone
• pine for
• pine kernel
• pine marten
• pine nut
• pine siskin
• pine snake
• pine tar
• pitch pine
• ponderosa pine
• red pine
• Scotch pine
• Scots pine
• screw pine
• scrub pine
• shortleaf pine
• slash pine
• spruce pine
• sugar pine
• Virginia pine
• white pine
• white-pine blister rust
• yellow pine

Kids Definition

pine

1 of 2 verb

ˈpīn 

pined; pining

1

: to lose energy, health, or weight through grief, worry, or distress

pine away

2

: to long for very much

pine

2 of 2 noun

1

: any of a genus of evergreen trees that have narrow needles for leaves, cones, and wood ranging from very soft to hard and that include valuable timber trees as well as many ornamentals

2

: the white or yellow wood of a pine

piney adjective

also piny

ˈpī-nē

Medical Definition

pine

1 of 2 noun

ˈpīn 

: any tree of the genus Pinus

pine

2 of 2 noun

: a dietary deficiency disease of sheep or cattle marked by anemia, malnutrition, and general debility

specifically : such a disease due to cobalt deficiency compare morton mains disease