famine
Americannoun
-
extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area.
-
any extreme and general scarcity.
- Synonyms:
- scantness, meagerness, poverty, paucity, dearth
-
extreme hunger; starvation.
noun
-
a severe shortage of food, as through crop failure or overpopulation
-
acute shortage of anything
-
violent hunger
Etymology
Origin of famine
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, derivative of faim “hunger,” from Latin famēs; cf. famish
Explanation
A famine is a severe shortage of food, but not the "I forgot to go to the grocery store and there's nothing to eat in the house" type of shortage. A famine is usually caused by crop failure or disaster. Although the "extreme shortage of food" meaning is most common, the noun famine can also mean any shortage or insufficiency, and it is often used idiomatically in the phrase "feast or famine." This usage refers to something that is alternately plentiful and scarce — like the feast and famine experienced by an artist who only occasionally sells his paintings.
Vocabulary lists containing famine
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In that region known as the "Dry Corridor" -- including parts of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua -- El Nino's return has triggered fears of drought and stoked concerns of famine.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
At the novel’s core are Tomás and his wife, Phina, each bearing the psychic wounds of the midcentury potato famine that left them orphaned and adrift—until they found each other.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
By helping the body store energy efficiently, it could have supported survival during periods of famine or food shortages.
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
Mao founded Communist China in 1949 and led it through a tumultuous and devastating period in the 1960s and 1970s, when an attempt at rapid industrialisation triggered a famine, killing tens of millions.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
This has been going on since the late 1860s, when famine struck North Korea and starving farmers fled across the Tumen and the Yalu rivers into northeast China.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
