starving — extremely hungry; suffering or dying from hunger
Part of speech: ADJECTIVE
Definition: extremely hungry; suffering or dying from hunger
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈstɑːrvɪŋ/
Example Sentences
- I'm starving! Let's grab some food before the meeting.
- The drama queen declared she was starving after not eating for two whole hours.
- My phone battery is starving for power - it's at 2%!
starving
ADJECTIVE[/ˈstɑːrvɪŋ/]
extremely hungry; suffering or dying from hunger

extremely hungry; suffering or dying from hunger

Starving artist keeps on carving!
Got the picture? Now let's practice.
🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
The word derives from Old English 'steorfan', which originally meant 'to die' or 'to perish'. Through the Medieval period, its meaning narrowed to specifically denote death by hunger, becoming linked directly to the deprivation of food as a cause of death.
Breakdown
steorfan (Old English: to die) > starve (to die of hunger) + -ing (present participle suffix, indicating ongoing action or condition). The morphological evolution reflects a semantic shift from general death to death specifically caused by starvation.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“I'm starving! Let's grab some food before the meeting.”
“The drama queen declared she was starving after not eating for two whole hours.”
“My phone battery is starving for power - it's at 2%!”
“The charity works to feed starving families in developing countries.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related
Want to master 19,000+ words?
Sign up free for flashcards & quizzes.