Words / B2

KRAYV/kreɪv/

To crave is to want something very strongly, often a food or a feeling: crave sugar; crave attention. Want is weaker; long for is literary. Voters craved a recount; still name the petition. Mix-up: crave vs crave as “carve”; grave. Do not write crave for a mild preference in a questionnaire without strong wording in the source.

Meaning

To want something very strongly, often a food or a feeling.

Examples

• “Voters craved a recount, the source said; still name the petition.”
• “Patients craved salt in the health extract, which is the physical-desire sense.”

Good to know

crave + noun; crave to + verb. Noun: craving (next). Weaker: want. Trap: carve / grave. Health, news, and literature. Want very strongly, not a mild like.

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