starved; starving
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
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
Scientists call the ghostly white coral — starving and sunburning — bleached.
—
Alex Harris
july 25, Miami Herald, 25 July 2025
Starvation can occur long before famine is declared Because all three thresholds must be met to trigger a famine designation, many people may be starving well before phase five is reached.
—Nurith Aizenman, NPR, 25 July 2025
And don’t stop making noise about Gaza; my colleague Dan put together a list of ways to help Gazans being starved by Israel.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 25 July 2025
But, don’t these payments do any good at all in feeding starving children, etc.
—Walter E Block, Oc Register, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for starve
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Alex Harris
july 25, Miami Herald, 25 July 2025
Starvation can occur long before famine is declared Because all three thresholds must be met to trigger a famine designation, many people may be starving well before phase five is reached.
—Nurith Aizenman, NPR, 25 July 2025
And don’t stop making noise about Gaza; my colleague Dan put together a list of ways to help Gazans being starved by Israel.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 25 July 2025
But, don’t these payments do any good at all in feeding starving children, etc.
—Walter E Block, Oc Register, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for starve
Cite this Entry
“Starve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starve. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
starve
verb
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
starved; starving
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