What does "starve" mean?
To die because of lack of food or of not eating.
Starve
/stɑːv/ verb
verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To die because of lack of food or of not eating.
- Grammar: starve is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: crave, annihilate, asphyxiate, be in want.
- Useful contrasts: satiated, banquet, banquets.
- Usage evidence: I might as well drown as starve.
How to use "starve"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "starve" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "starve" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "starve" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "starve" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "starve" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "crave" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "starve", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To die because of lack of food or of not eating. intransitive
"During the Cultural Revolution I was exiled to Xincai County in Henan Province. There, 36 percent of the people starved to death in the early 1960s."
- 2 die of food deprivation wordnet
- 3 To suffer severely because of lack of food or of not eating. intransitive
"Ah (ſaid the Ape as ſighing vvondrous ſad) / Its an hard caſe, vvhen men of good deſeruing / Muſt either driuen be perforce to ſteruing, / Or asked for their pas by euerie ſquib: […]"
- 4 deprive of food wordnet
- 5 To be very hungry. intransitive
"I was starving so I wrote S.O.S. on the desert island using rocks."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 deprive of a necessity and cause suffering wordnet
- 7 To kill or attempt to kill by depriving of food. transitive
- 8 be hungry; go without food wordnet
- 9 To make suffer severely by depriving of food. transitive
- 10 have a craving, appetite, or great desire for wordnet
- 11 To force a combatant to submit or surrender by depriving of food, as in a targeted siege. transitive
"If they refuse to surrender the garrison, we'll just starve them out."
- 12 To force a population center to submit or surrender by depriving of food, as in sieges in international armed conflicts. dated, transitive
"Some historians have since classified the Siege of Leningrad as a genocide due to the intentional destruction of the city and the systematic starvation of its civilian population."
- 13 To deprive of nourishment or of some vital component. transitive
"The uncaring parents starved the child of love."
- 14 To deteriorate for want of any essential thing. intransitive
- 15 To kill with cold; to (cause to) die from cold. British, transitive
"I was half starved waiting out in that wind."
- 16 To die; in later use especially to die slowly, waste away. intransitive, obsolete
"Seuen moneths he ſo her kept in bitter ſmart, / Becauſe his ſinfull luſt ſhe would not ſerue, / Vntill ſuch time as noble Britomart / Releaſed her, that elſe was like to ſterue / Through cruell knife that her deare heart did kerue."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I might as well drown as starve."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "starve"?
Common synonyms include: crave, annihilate, asphyxiate, be in want, be killed, be pinched.
How do you use "starve" in a sentence?
I might as well drown as starve.
How do you pronounce "starve"?
Pronounced /stɑːv/.
Etymology
From Middle English sterven (“to die, perish”), from Old English steorfan (“to die, perish”), from Proto-West Germanic *sterban, from Proto-Germanic *sterbaną (“to become stiff, die”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)terp- (“to lose strength, become numb, be motionless”); or from Proto-Indo-European *sterbʰ- (“to become stiff”), from *ster- (“stiff”); or a conflation of the aforementioned. Cognate with Scots stairve, sterve (“to die, perish, starve”), Saterland Frisian stjerwa (“to die”), West Frisian stjerre (“to die”), Dutch sterven (“to die”), German Low German starven (“to die”), German sterben (“to die”), Icelandic stirfinn (“peevish, froward”), Albanian shterp (“sterile, unproductive, barren land”).