starvation
UK [stɑ:'veɪ.ʃən] US [stɑ:r-] noun uncountable
■the state of having no food for a long period, often causing death （常造成死亡的）饥饿，挨饿•Twenty million people face starvation unless a vast emergency aid programme is launched.若不启动大型紧急援助专案计划，两千万人将有饿死的危险。 •The animals had died of starvation.这些动物饿死了。 •figurative They pay starvation wages (= not enough money to live on).他们付的工钱极少，不够维持基本生活。 |