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
Authoritarian regimes are notoriously ineffective at providing essential services for their people, which is why the people of North Korea are starving.
—
Tom Zirpoli, Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2025
Lawyers with the Department of Justice argued the relief requested by the federal unions who brought the lawsuit amounted to putting the CFPB into receivership, while the plaintiffs argued the Trump administration was causing irreparable harm by slowly starving the agency.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 3 Mar. 2025
Stalin reinstituted the ban on the Ukrainian language, liquidated Kyiv’s political class and intelligentsia, and starved millions of Ukrainians to death.
—James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
The series began in 2015, and highlighted Ruby's harsh discipline tactics, which included starving her children as punishment.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for starve
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Tom Zirpoli, Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2025
Lawyers with the Department of Justice argued the relief requested by the federal unions who brought the lawsuit amounted to putting the CFPB into receivership, while the plaintiffs argued the Trump administration was causing irreparable harm by slowly starving the agency.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 3 Mar. 2025
Stalin reinstituted the ban on the Ukrainian language, liquidated Kyiv’s political class and intelligentsia, and starved millions of Ukrainians to death.
—James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
The series began in 2015, and highlighted Ruby's harsh discipline tactics, which included starving her children as punishment.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 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 12 Mar. 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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