INDEX:
1. wanting to eat
2. not hungry
3. the feeling you have when you are hungry
4. to become hungry
5. not having enough food
6. when people are ill or dying because of not having enough food
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ THIRSTY
↑ EAT
↑ FOOD
↑ MEAL
↑ THIN
↑ TASTE
↑ HORRIBLE
↑ DELICIOUS
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1. wanting to eat
▷ hungry /ˈhʌŋgri/ [adjective]
▪ We were really hungry after our long walk.
▪ Are you hungry? Do you want a sandwich?
▪ Hungry shoppers waited in line at the food counters.
▷ feel like something to eat/want something to eat /ˌfiːl laɪk sʌmθɪŋ tʊ ˈiːt, ˌwɒnt sʌmθɪŋ tʊ ˈiːtǁˌwɔːnt-/ [verb phrase] spoken
to want to eat something :
▪ It’s 12 o'clock - do you feel like something to eat?
▪ Do you guys want something to eat?
▷ starving/ravenous/famished also starved American /ˈstɑːʳvɪŋ, ˈrævənəs, ˈfæmɪʃt, stɑːʳvd/ [adjective not before noun] spoken
very hungry :
▪ Can we talk about this after dinner, please? I’m famished.
▪ I missed lunch and I’m starved.
▪ Normally she did not eat a lot in the morning, but today she was ravenous.
absolutely starving/ravenous/famished
▪ I’ve been driving for eight hours non-stop and I am absolutely starving.
▷ peckish /ˈpekɪʃ/ [adjective not before noun] British informal
a little hungry :
▪ I’m feeling a bit peckish. What’s in the fridge?
▪ The kids were getting peckish so Sammy found a cafe nearby.
▷ have/get the munchies /ˌhæv, ˌget ðə ˈmʌntʃiz/ [verb phrase not in progressive] informal
to begin to feel a little hungry, and want something to eat, especially something small rather than a large meal :
▪ If you get the munchies later on there are some cookies in the kitchen.
2. not hungry
▷ not be hungry /nɒt biː ˈhʌŋgri/ [verb phrase]
▪ ‘How about something to eat?’ ‘No thanks, I’m not hungry.’
▪ We offered her some sandwiches but she said she wasn’t hungry.
▷ not feel like/not want anything /nɒt ˈfiːl laɪk, nɒt ˈwɒnt ˌeniθɪŋǁ-ˈwɔːnt-/ [verb phrase] spoken informal
say this to tell someone that you are not hungry :
▪ I had a really big lunch, so I don’t feel like anything just now.
▪ ‘Do you want some toast?’ ‘No thanks, I don’t want anything.’
▷ lose your appetite /ˌluːz jɔːr ˈæpə̇taɪt/ [verb phrase]
to no longer want to eat anything, especially because you are upset or ill or thinking about something else :
▪ Jane’s not feeling too well and has lost her appetite.
▪ I shifted the food around my plate, suddenly losing my appetite as he told me the news.
3. the feeling you have when you are hungry
▷ hunger /ˈhʌŋgəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling you have when you have eaten very little food :
▪ The baby screamed with hunger.
▪ Many slimming diets don’t provide enough calories to satisfy hunger.
hunger pangs
the uncomfortable feelings in your stomach that tell you are very hungry
▪ If you do feel hunger pangs, nibble on carrot, celery, or cucumber sticks.
▷ appetite /ˈæpɪtaɪt, ˈæpətaɪt/ [countable/uncountable noun]
the feeling of wanting to eat when you have not eaten for some time - use this especially when someone does not have their normal desire to eat, for example when they are ill :
▪ How’s his appetite? Is he getting enough to eat?
good/healthy/big appetite
desire to eat a lot
▪ She must be growing; she’s got a big appetite right now.
spoil/ruin your appetite
make you not want to eat a meal
▪ Don’t eat any cake now. You’ll spoil your appetite.
4. to become hungry
▷ get hungry /get ˈhʌŋgri/ [verb phrase]
to start to feel hungry, especially because you have not eaten for some time :
▪ Is it lunchtime yet? I’m getting hungry.
▷ work up an appetite /ˌwɜːʳk ʌp ən ˈæpə̇taɪt/ [verb phrase]
to do something to make yourself want to eat, especially by hard physical exercise :
▪ After a long day walking across the hills they had worked up quite an appetite.
▪ There’s nothing like skiing to work up an appetite.
▷ give somebody an appetite /ˌgɪv somebody ən ˈæpə̇taɪt/ [verb phrase not in passive]
if work, exercise, etc gives you an appetite it makes you feel hungry :
▪ All that exercise has given me an appetite.
▪ Spending all day in the fresh air had given them all an appetite.
5. not having enough food
▷ starving /ˈstɑːʳvɪŋ/ [adjective]
someone who is starving has not had enough food for a long time and will die soon if they do not eat :
▪ The people are starving and they need all the food and medical supplies we can give them.
▪ They have barely enough money to keep them from starving.
▪ a country full of starving people
the starving
people who are starving
▪ The homeless and the starving, refugees of the war, were flocking to the cities.
▷ starve /stɑːʳv/ [intransitive verb]
to have so little food to eat that you become ill or die :
▪ The prisoners were taken out into the desert and left to starve.
▪ In 1884, the crew of Young’s ship nearly starved when they were blown off course.
starve to death
starve and die
▪ Unless these people get food in the next two weeks they will starve to death.
▷ hungry /ˈhʌŋgri/ [adjective]
if people are hungry, they need food but do not have enough food to eat over a long period of time :
▪ My children are hungry, I need a job.
▪ Hungry people crowded around the relief wagon for food.
go hungry
not get food to eat
▪ If the crops fail again this year thousands of people will go hungry.
▷ not get enough to eat /nɒt get ɪˌnʌf tʊ ˈiːt/ [verb phrase]
to not be given enough food, so that you are becoming ill :
▪ The refugees in the camps are not getting enough to eat, and the living conditions are terrible.
▪ A baby who is not gaining weight is probably not getting enough to eat.
▷ half-starved /ˌhɑːf ˈstɑːʳvd◂ǁˌhæf-/ [adjective]
thin and looking ill because you do not have enough to eat :
▪ Poor dog! He looks half-starved.
▪ The soldiers were dirty and half-starved.
▷ underfed /ˌʌndəʳˈfed◂/ [adjective] written
people or animals who are underfed are not being given enough food to eat :
▪ The servants were overworked and underfed.
▪ fields full of underfed cattle
▷ malnourished /ˌmælˈnʌrɪʃt◂ǁ-ˈnɜː-, -ˈnʌ-/ [adjective] formal
unhealthy and thin because you have not had the right kinds of food over a long period of time :
▪ During the 1930s a large proportion of Britain’s urban population was malnourished.
6. when people are ill or dying because of not having enough food
▷ hunger /ˈhʌŋgəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Many people could die from cold and hunger this winter as the war continues.
▪ The slum-dwellers suffer from poverty, hunger, and disease.
weak with/from hunger
▪ Weak with hunger, she staggered up to the cabin door.
▷ starvation /stɑːʳˈveɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
suffering or death caused by not having enough food to eat :
▪ The survivors were close to starvation when they were rescued.
▪ A global fall in the price of rice spread hardship and even starvation to many parts of Indochina.
die of starvation
▪ 30 million people die of starvation each year.
brink of starvation
almost dying because of not having enough food
▪ Thousands of refugees are on the brink of starvation in camps south of the capital.
▷ malnutrition /ˌmælnjʊˈtrɪʃ ə nǁ-nʊ-/ [uncountable noun]
bad health caused by not eating enough food or by not eating enough of the right kinds of food :
▪ Many of the children showed signs of malnutrition.
▪ A survey of US households found evidence of malnutrition in those persons with the lowest incomes.
▷ famine /ˈfæmɪn, ˈfæmən/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a situation in which a large number of people in a country or area are very hungry and many die because the crops of rice, wheat etc have failed :
▪ Millions of people in Africa continue to die because of war and famine.
▪ The four-year drought has caused widespread famine across Afghanistan.