definition of the word starve

From Middle English sterven, from Old English steorfan. Cognate with Dutch sterven and German sterben.

• (UK) IPA: /stɑː(ɹ)v/, SAMPA: /stA:(r)v/

  Rhymes: -ɑː(r)v

•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

to starve (third-person singular simple present starves, present participle starving, simple past starved, past participle starved or rarely starven)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To die, in general:

   But he that starf for oure redempcioun
   And bond Sathan (and yet lith ther he lay) [CHAUCER Cnt, MoL. 633-634]

2. (intransitive) To die because of lack of food or of not eating.

   He starved to death on a desert island.

3. (intransitive) To be very hungry.

   Hey, ma, I'm starving!

4. (transitive) To destroy, make capitulate or at least make suffer by deprivation, notably of food
5. (transitive) To deprive of nourishment.

   They starved the child until it withered away.

6. (transitive, UK, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire) To kill with cold.

   I was half starved waiting out in that wind.

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

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