pine for
phrasal verb
pined for; pining for; pines for
: to feel very sad because one wants (something) or because one is not with (someone)
She was pining for the old days.
He's pining for his college sweetheart.
Examples of pine for in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If you’re left pining for an extra helping, the 2010 deluxe edition of Breakfast in America includes additional tracks from this tour.
—
Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
Like just about everyone who’s pined for a dream outdoor space in recent years, Jessica Tran had heard horror stories about sky-high costs, outrageous timelines to finish the work and fierce competition to land a spot on a contractor’s schedule — or even get a call back.
—Rachel Kurzius, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
In Garcia's previous book, Memories of My Melancholy Whores, ostensibly the first in the elderly series, a 90-year-old man pines for a 14-year old virgin.
—Carrie Kahn, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024
But even as many Democrats both in Washington and around the country quietly pine for someone else to take on former President Donald J. Trump, who leads nationwide in the poll by 5 percentage points, no one who matters seems willing to tell that to Mr. Biden himself.
—Peter Baker, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024
Titling their debut album the record acknowledges the years of pining for and inching toward the finished product while introducing a faint air of levity to a collection of songs about identifying lifelines in troubling times.
—Vulture, 4 Feb. 2024
Some letters contained accounts of wives pining for their husbands away at war, while others included discussions of household finances, the birth of a child or expressions of resentment toward sailors who had been out of touch.
—Jenny Gross, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Ravel, pining for married Misia Sert (Doria Tillier), is unable to give into emotions.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 29 Jan. 2024
To avert a major disruption to HUD and other agencies, housing advocates have pined for more money, seeking a spending boost at a time when hard-right Republicans are demanding cuts, especially to anti-poverty programs.
—Tony Romm, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024
Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 11 Apr. 2024
Like just about everyone who’s pined for a dream outdoor space in recent years, Jessica Tran had heard horror stories about sky-high costs, outrageous timelines to finish the work and fierce competition to land a spot on a contractor’s schedule — or even get a call back.
—Rachel Kurzius, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
In Garcia's previous book, Memories of My Melancholy Whores, ostensibly the first in the elderly series, a 90-year-old man pines for a 14-year old virgin.
—Carrie Kahn, NPR, 6 Mar. 2024
But even as many Democrats both in Washington and around the country quietly pine for someone else to take on former President Donald J. Trump, who leads nationwide in the poll by 5 percentage points, no one who matters seems willing to tell that to Mr. Biden himself.
—Peter Baker, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024
Titling their debut album the record acknowledges the years of pining for and inching toward the finished product while introducing a faint air of levity to a collection of songs about identifying lifelines in troubling times.
—Vulture, 4 Feb. 2024
Some letters contained accounts of wives pining for their husbands away at war, while others included discussions of household finances, the birth of a child or expressions of resentment toward sailors who had been out of touch.
—Jenny Gross, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023
Ravel, pining for married Misia Sert (Doria Tillier), is unable to give into emotions.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 29 Jan. 2024
To avert a major disruption to HUD and other agencies, housing advocates have pined for more money, seeking a spending boost at a time when hard-right Republicans are demanding cuts, especially to anti-poverty programs.
—Tony Romm, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pine for.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Pine for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pine%20for. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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