Definitions
01needing food
A1 · Beginner
adj. feeling that you want or need to eat food.
adj. feeling or displaying the physiological need for food.
“The children were very hungry after playing outside all afternoon.”
“By the time the delayed flight finally landed, the passengers were visibly hungry and frustrated with the lack of service.”
Usage
Commonly follows the verb 'to be' or 'to feel'.
Pitfall
I have hungry.
I am hungry.
In English, hunger is a state described with 'to be', not a possession with 'to have'.
Synonyms
02wanting something strongly
B2 · Upper Intermediate
adj. having a strong desire for something, like success or power.
adj. having a strong or eager desire; showing ambition or a craving for something non-physical.
“The young athlete is hungry for a gold medal this year.”
“The company is looking for hungry new graduates who are willing to work hard to climb the corporate ladder.”
Usage
Often followed by the preposition 'for'.
Antonyms
03poor or thin
C2 · Proficiency Literary
adj. describing land that is not good for growing plants because it lacks nutrients.
adj. referring to soil or land that is infertile, poor in nutrients, or unproductive.
“The farmers struggled to grow crops in the hungry, stony soil.”
“The landscape was dominated by hungry moorland that offered little sustenance for the local livestock.”
Teaching tip
This sense is rare in modern conversation; it is mostly found in older literature or specific agricultural contexts.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English hungry, from Old English hungriġ, from Proto-West Germanic hungrug, from Proto-Germanic hungrugaz (“hungry”); equivalent to hunger + -y. Cognate with West Frisian hongerich (“hungry”), Dutch hongerig (“hungry”), German hungrig (“hungry”), Swedish hungrig (“hungry”), Icelandic hungraður (“hungry”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Idioms
01. stay hungry
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/hungry
「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0