starve
To die because of lack of food or of not eatingTo die because of lack of food or of not eating.
» I would rather starve than steal.
Ich hungere lieber, als zu stehlen.
Я скоріше буду голодувати, ніж вкраду.
Meaning
11 senses(intransitive)To die because of lack of food or of not eating.
verhungern, Hungers sterben
голода́тьgolodátʹ, умира́ть от го́лодаumirátʹ ot góloda, умира́ть с го́лодуumirátʹ s gólodu
голодува́тиholoduváty
die of food deprivation
(intransitive)To suffer severely because of lack of food or of not eating.
(intransitive)To be very hungry.
I was starving so I wrote S.O.S. on the desert island using rocks.
verhungern
проголода́тьсяprogolodátʹsja, изголода́тьсяizgolodátʹsja, умира́ть от го́лодаumirátʹ ot góloda
be hungry; go without food
(transitive)To kill or attempt to kill by depriving of food.
deprive of food
(transitive)To make suffer severely by depriving of food.
(transitive)To force a combatant to submit or surrender by depriving of food, as in a targeted siege.
If they refuse to surrender the garrison, we'll just starve them out.
(dated, transitive)To force a population center to submit or surrender by depriving of food, as in sieges in international armed conflicts.
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.
(transitive)To deprive of nourishment or of some vital component.
The uncaring parents starved the child of love.
The patient’s brain was starved of oxygen.
verhungern lassen, aushungern
мори́ть го́лодомmorítʹ gólodom
(intransitive)To deteriorate for want of any essential thing.
ча́хнутьčáxnutʹ
(UK, transitive)To kill with cold; to (cause to) die from cold.
I was half starved waiting out in that wind.
(intransitive, obsolete)To die; in later use especially to die slowly, waste away.
Examples
392 sentencesI would rather starve than steal.
Я скоріше буду голодувати, ніж вкраду.
deIch hungere lieber, als zu stehlen.
Tom told me that he's starved.
Том сказав мені, що він помирає від голоду.
Millions of people starve to death every year.
Кожного року мільйони людей помирають від голоду.
ruКаждый год миллионы людей умирают от голода.
deJedes Jahr verhungern Millionen von Menschen.
I imagine you must be starving.
Я думаю, ти зараз помраєш з голоду.
Tom told me he's starved.
Том сказав мені, що він помирає від голоду.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 4
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English sterven (“to die, perish”), from Old English steorfan (“to die, perishFrom 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”).
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Forms
starves, starving, starved, starvedSynonyms
5 synonymsAntonyms
1 antonymsWord family
20 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
Collocations
6 patterns- starve to death
- must be starving
- be starved when
- rather starve
- to be starved
- was starving to