Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

crave

/kɹeɪv/ verb

In Latin: dēsīderō, avēo Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about crave at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Have a craving, appetite, or great desire for.
Plead or ask for earnestly.

Origin

From Middle English craven, from Old English crafian (“to crave, ask, implore, demand, summon”), from Proto-West Germanic *krafōn, from Proto-Germanic *krafjaną (“to demand”). Cognate with Danish kræve (“to demand, require”), Swedish kräva (“to crave, demand”), Icelandic krefja (“to demand”), Norwegian kreve (“to demand”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word