How to Use hanker in a Sentence

hanker

verb
  • By the middle of the winter, they were hankering for a warm day.
  • Some days even the dog that always wanted more of you seems to hanker for more space.
    Rekha Basu, Star Tribune, 29 July 2020
  • Being in the Windy City this fall may leave you numb—or hankering for a drink.
    Will Gordon, Esquire, 4 Oct. 2017
  • Sam Clemmett’s been hankering to be a part of the Bridgerton world.
    Adam Rathe, Town & Country, 8 May 2023
  • The classic perception of posh old men in red trousers hankering for the good old days misses the point.
    Luke McGee, CNN, 6 July 2019
  • Has there been a classic Sondheim role he’s been hankering to do?
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2023
  • If ever there was a fish with a hankering for life in the slow lane, Pacific rockfish would fill the bill.
    Mike Campbell, Alaska Dispatch News, 4 Aug. 2017
  • But Chinese consumers hanker after more than just the meat.
    Luciana Magalhaes, WSJ, 7 Apr. 2018
  • The bad news for any team hankering to take swings in that bandbox is, well, [gestures at the section about Verlander and Cole and Greinke].
    Jon Tayler, SI.com, 26 Sep. 2019
  • Time Sports The slow pace of the winter meetings left plenty a fan hankering for more trade and signing action.
    Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2017
  • Gad is approaching that hankering for new things with humor and heart, and in a way that finds middle ground for kids and their parents and guardians.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Delaware Dover: The deadline is nigh for anyone hankering to be the state’s chief justice.
    USA TODAY, 13 Sep. 2019
  • Mrs May is a 1950s Tory who hankers after a more homogenous Britain.
    The Economist, 3 May 2018
  • Even those not joining family and friends for a feast seem to hanker for the traditional flavors of the day, said McCabe.
    BostonGlobe.com, 22 Nov. 2019
  • The storefront's window displays have been cleaned out, as customers hankering for a Knudsen's treat pull in and out of the parking lot in dismay.
    Aleanna Siacon, Detroit Free Press, 4 May 2018
  • Here’s hoping our children and grandchildren will be smarter the next time the Broncos come around, with a hankering to build a new stadium.
    Mark Kiszla, The Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2019
  • People still hanker to go out at night, so the challenge for night mayors is to make their cities safer and more inviting destinations.
    Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Gaunt and weather-beaten, the 32-year-old Raulino is hankering for a cigarette, coffee, and a meal.
    Deanna Pan, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2019
  • West Valley residents hankering to play blackjack near home won't have to wait much longer.
    Jen Fifield, azcentral, 19 Nov. 2019
  • Sweaty, tired and hankering for something to eat other than trail mix, the final leg of a hike — the light at the end of the tunnel — holds the promise of relief, celebration and maybe a cold beer.
    Mare Czinar, azcentral, 24 Apr. 2020
  • Prime Day is also a great time to buy anything you’ve been hankering after that Amazon itself makes.
    Mike Murphy, Quartz, 12 July 2019
  • Southeast Asian ministers aren’t the only ones to be hankering after a piece of the billion-dollar tour.
    Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024
  • Historic and lovely Rosecrans is not the only closed cemetery that people hanker for.
    sandiegouniontribune.com, 17 May 2017
  • With their second daughter packing off for college this fall, a couple in their early 50s hankered for a whole new lifestyle.
    courant.com, 1 Aug. 2019
  • They were rewarded with bellies full of chicken and a hankering for raw kale and Pepto-Bismol.
    Jenn Harrisstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2020
  • Romelu Lukaku, the league’s top scorer who is reportedly hankering for a return to Chelsea, huffed and puffed but failed his audition.
    Peter Berlin, SI.com, 30 Apr. 2017
  • Clearly, Dixon isn’t the only IndyCar driver with a hankering for fast food.
    Michael Marot, The Denver Post, 22 May 2017
  • Dani Bell was a British copywriter who hankered for her own marketing startup.
    Clive Thompson, Wired, 19 May 2020
  • That still wasn't enough to satisfy Americans' hankering for slow-cooked brisket.
    Sarah Min, CBS News, 2 Aug. 2019
  • Chances are, all of these scenarios trigger that hankering for a certain comfort food.
    NBC News, 24 Jan. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hanker.' 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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