starve

verb

ˈstärv 

starved; starving

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

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

They are beaten, they are tortured, they are raped, they are shot, hanged, and starved. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

The second is that NJ Transit, starved by both Republican and Democratic administrations in Trenton, can no longer meet one of its most basic responsibilities: Keep people moving. —Nolan Hicks, Curbed, 28 Oct. 2024

Even more ominously, U.S. officials had heard that Israeli hard-liners were promoting a plan to either starve, kill or force out Palestinians in northern Gaza so that Jewish settlers could reoccupy the area, something the U.S. has argued against. —Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, 28 Oct. 2024

In the early days of the wider war beginning in February 2022, Russian troops laid siege to Mariupol, ruthlessly starving and bombing the city’s garrison as well as its civilian population. —David Axe, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sterven to die, starve, from Old English steorfan to die; akin to Old High German sterban to die, and probably to Lithuanian starinti to stiffen — more at stare

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing starve

• starve to death

Kids Definition

starve

verb

ˈstärv 

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

ˈstärv 

starved; starving

intransitive verb

1

: to perish from lack of food

2

: to suffer extreme hunger

transitive verb

1

: to kill with hunger

2

: to deprive of nourishment