APPETITE


Meaning of APPETITE in English

ap ‧ pe ‧ tite /ˈæpətaɪt, ˈæpɪtaɪt/ BrE AmE noun

[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: apetit , from Latin , past participle of appetere 'to try to get' , from ad- 'to' + petere 'to look for' ]

1 . [countable usually singular, uncountable] a desire for food:

Her husband always had a huge appetite.

Symptoms include tiredness and loss of appetite.

2 . [countable] a desire or liking for a particular activity

appetite for

She has an amazing appetite for knowledge.

People seem to have an insatiable appetite (=always wanting more of something) for news of any kind.

a loss of sexual appetite

⇨ whet sb’s appetite at ↑ whet (1)

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COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives

▪ a good/healthy appetite

Growing children should have a healthy appetite.

▪ a big/huge/enormous appetite

By the time Ron was 16 he had an enormous appetite.

▪ a poor appetite

A poor appetite may be a sign of illness.

▪ a small appetite

My aunt only had a small appetite.

■ verbs

▪ have an appetite

There’s lots of food – I hope you have a good appetite.

▪ lose your appetite

She was so miserable that she completely lost her appetite.

▪ give somebody an appetite ( also stimulate your appetite formal )

The exercise and fresh air had given us an appetite.

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The aroma of the herbs and spices helps stimulate the appetite.

▪ spoil/ruin your appetite (=make you not feel like eating a meal)

Don’t give the children any more sweets – it will spoil their appetite.

■ phrases

▪ loss/lack of appetite

Symptoms include fever and loss of appetite.

|

I’m a bit worried about her lack of appetite.

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THESAURUS

■ wanting to eat

▪ hungry wanting to eat something:

We were really hungry after our long walk.

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It’s hard work cooking for a bunch of hungry kids.

▪ peckish [not before noun] British English informal a little hungry:

I’m feeling a bit peckish. What’s in the fridge?

▪ starving/ravenous /ˈræv ə nəs/ ( also starved American English ) [not before noun] spoken very hungry and wanting to eat as soon as possible:

I missed lunch and I’m absolutely starving.

|

Sam’s always ravenous when he gets home from school.

▪ famished very hungry. Famished is less common and sounds a little more formal than starving or ravenous :

Everyone was famished by the time they arrived.

▪ I could eat a horse! spoken used to say that you are very hungry:

‘Are you hungry?’ ‘Yeah, I could eat a horse.’

▪ appetite the desire for food that you have when you are hungry:

Exercise usually gives me an appetite.

|

It’s healthy to have a good appetite.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.