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.
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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.
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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.
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It’s healthy to have a good appetite.