famine

/ˈfæmɪn/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: famines

Sense 1

Meaning · English

Extreme shortage of food in a region.

Noun

Examples

It was reserved for Christians to torture bread, the staff of life, bread for which children in whole districts wail, bread, the gift of pasture to the poor, bread, for want of which thousands of our fellow beings annually perish by famine; it was reserved for Christians to torture the material of b

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

A period of extreme shortage of food in a region.

Noun

Examples

1986, United States Congress, House Select Committee on Hunger, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Famine and Recovery in Africa The root causes of the current famine are known: poverty, low health standards....

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “famine” mean?

Extreme shortage of food in a region.

Is “famine” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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