starved

From the verb starve: (⇒ conjugate)

starved is: ⓘ

v past

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

starve /stɑrv/   v., starved, starv•ing. 

1. Pathology to (cause to) weaken, waste, or die from lack of food: [no object]
   was broke so long he nearly starved.
   [~ + object]
   tried to starve his enemy into submission.
2. Pathology, to be extremely hungry:
   [be + ~-ed/ ~-ing* no object] When do we eat? I'm starved/starving.
3. to (cause to) feel a strong need or desire: [be + ~-ing + for + object]
   The child is starving for affection.
   [~ + object]
   The children were being starved of affection.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

starve  (stärv), v., starved, starv•ing. 
v.i. 

1. Pathology to die or perish from lack of food or nourishment.
2. Pathology to be in the process of perishing or suffering severely from hunger.
3. to suffer from extreme poverty and need.
4. to feel a strong need or desire:
   The child was starving for affection.
5. British Terms [Chiefly Brit. Dial.] to perish or suffer extremely from cold.
6. [Obs.] to die.

v.t. 

7. Pathology to cause to starve;
   kill, weaken, or reduce by lack of food.
8. to subdue, or force to some condition or action, by hunger:
   to starve a besieged garrison into a surrender.
9. to cause to suffer for lack of something needed or craved.
10. British Terms [Chiefly Brit. Dial.] to cause to perish, or to suffer extremely, from cold.

• bef. 1000; Middle English sterven, Old English steorfan to die; cognate with German sterben

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

starve / stɑːv/ verb

1. to die or cause to die from lack of food
2. to deprive (a person or animal) or (of a person, etc) to be deprived of food
3. (intransitive) to be very hungry
4. followed by of or for: to deprive or be deprived (of something necessary), esp so as to cause suffering or malfunctioning: the engine was starved of fuel
5. (transitive) followed by into: to bring (to) a specified condition by starving: to starve someone into submission
6. to be or cause to be extremely cold

Etymology: Old English steorfan to die; related to Old Frisian sterva to die, Old High German sterban to die