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thirst.

A sensation of dryness in the throat associated with a craving for liquids, produced by deprivation of drink, or by some other cause (such as fear, excitement, etc.) which stops the secretion of the pharyngeal mucous membrane.

6 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/θɜːst/Australia, Received-Pronunciation/θɝst/US/θɪɹst/Scotland/θøːst/New-Zealand
  1. A sensation of dryness in the throat associated with a craving for liquids, produced by deprivation of drink, or by some other cause (such as fear, excitement, etc.) which stops the secretion of the pharyngeal mucous membrane.

    countable · uncountable
    We developed a great thirst during our hike.
    He had quite a thirst on and so headed to his favourite Dublin pub.
  2. The condition producing the sensation of thirst.

    countable · uncountable
    If you go out in the desert for long without water, the thirst can drive you mad.
  3. A want and eager desire (for something); a craving or longing.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    She had a real thirst for news and that greatly helped her career.
  4. Sexual lust.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    He had a thirst for her and she had the same for him.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *þurstu Old English þurst Old English þyrstaninflu. Middle English thirst English thirst From Middle English thirst, thurst, from Old English þurst, from Proto-West Germanic *þurstu, from Proto-Germanic *þurstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ters- (“dry”). Germanic cognates include Old High German thurst, Middle High German durst, German Durst, Old Saxon thurst, Old Dutch thursti, Middle Dutch dorst, dorste, Dutch dorst, Old Norse þorsti (Swedish törst, Icelandic þorsti, Faroese tosti, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tørst, Norwegian Nynorsk tørste). Indo-European cognates include Ancient Greek τέρσομαι (térsomai), Albanian djersë (“sweat”), Sanskrit तृष्णा (tṛṣṇā, “desire; thirst”), Sanskrit तृष्यति (tṛ́ṣyati), Latin terra, Latin torridus.

verb/θɜːst/Australia, Received-Pronunciation/θɝst/US/θɪɹst/Scotland/θøːst/New-Zealand
  1. To be thirsty.

    intransitive
  2. To desire vehemently.

    intransitive · usually
    I thirst for knowledge and education will sate me.
    to be thirsted for one's blood
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *þurstu Old English þurst Old English þyrstaninflu. Middle English thirst English thirst From Middle English thirst, thurst, from Old English þurst, from Proto-West Germanic *þurstu, from Proto-Germanic *þurstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *ters- (“dry”). Germanic cognates include Old High German thurst, Middle High German durst, German Durst, Old Saxon thurst, Old Dutch thursti, Middle Dutch dorst, dorste, Dutch dorst, Old Norse þorsti (Swedish törst, Icelandic þorsti, Faroese tosti, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tørst, Norwegian Nynorsk tørste). Indo-European cognates include Ancient Greek τέρσομαι (térsomai), Albanian djersë (“sweat”), Sanskrit तृष्णा (tṛṣṇā, “desire; thirst”), Sanskrit तृष्यति (tṛ́ṣyati), Latin terra, Latin torridus.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.