hunger

HUNG-gur/ˈhʌŋɡɚ/UKHUNG-guh/ˈhʌŋɡə/

Pluralhungers (some meanings)

Verbhungers, hungering, hungered

5 meanings of hunger

1
noununcountable
The feeling you get when your body needs food.
Like an empty feeling in your stomach that tells you to eat.
By noon, my hunger was so strong I could barely think.
A glass of water did little to ease her hunger.
Similarappetite, starvation, famine
Oppositefullness, satiety
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountable
A strong wish for something you really want.
Like being hungry, but for something you want instead of for food.
Her hunger for adventure took her all over the world.
Nothing could satisfy his hunger for success.
Similardesire, craving, yearning, longing, thirst
Oppositeindifference, apathy
Note
3
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To want something very much.
Like being so hungry for food, but here you want a dream instead of a meal.
Many young artists hunger for recognition.
She hungered for a life beyond her small town.
Similaryearn, long, thirst, pine, ache
Note
4
verbintransitive
To need food because you have not eaten.
Like an empty stomach that aches because there is no food.
Thousands of children hunger every day in war-torn areas.
No family should hunger while food is wasted nearby.
Similarstarve
Note

Less common meaning

5
verbarchaictransitive
To make someone feel very hungry, often by keeping food away.
Like leaving someone with no food until they grow weak and empty.
Cruel masters would hunger their servants as punishment.
The long drought hungered the livestock for months.
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2

From Old English hungor, meaning hunger or famine. It goes back to older Germanic words and an ancient root meaning to burn or desire.

Meanings 3–5

From Old English hyngran, meaning to be hungry, from an older Germanic word.