1
: an extreme scarcity of food
The famine affected most of the country.
2
archaic
: starvation
3
archaic
: a ravenous appetite
4
: a great shortage
Transportation problems resulted in a coal famine.
Synonyms
Examples of famine in a Sentence
The famine affected half the continent.
millions killed by war, drought, and famine
Recent Examples on the Web
Their conflict has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country.
—
Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
Half of those trucks will be directed to Gaza’s north, where experts had warned famine was imminent.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2025
Other possible drivers of this decline include plague, war and famine.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
The amount of sulfur thrown into the atmosphere played a role in crop failures that led to famines in the mid-to-late 1830s in Japan and India.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for famine 
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Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025
Half of those trucks will be directed to Gaza’s north, where experts had warned famine was imminent.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2025
Other possible drivers of this decline include plague, war and famine.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
The amount of sulfur thrown into the atmosphere played a role in crop failures that led to famines in the mid-to-late 1830s in Japan and India.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for famine
Dictionary Entries Near famine
Cite this Entry
“Famine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/famine. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
famine
noun
fam·ine
ˈfam-ən 
1
: an extreme general shortage of food
2
: a great shortage
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