Cravings
/ˈkreɪvɪŋz/
nounB1plural
Definition
Cravings mean strong feelings of wanting something very much. Most often, people use cravings to talk about wanting certain foods, like sweets or salty snacks, but cravings can also be for other things like habits or experiences. These desires feel urgent and hard to ignore.
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⚡ See It in Action
Strong desire for a specific food or drink
- •She had cravings for chocolate during her pregnancy.
- •Late at night, he often felt cravings for salty snacks.
- •Cravings for sweet foods can be hard to resist.
Strong desire for something non-food related (less common)
- •Some people have cravings for adventure or excitement.
- •Cravings for attention can affect how people behave.
🧲 Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "cravings" like "want" (A1 word), but much stronger and focused on one thing you really need or desire right now
- ✓Picture your mouth watering when you see chocolate or smell fresh bread—this is a craving
- ✓It's the feeling when you suddenly really want ice cream on a hot day or chips when you are tired
- ✓Sounds like "CRAVE-ings" → imagine a person waving their hands and saying "I CRAVE this!" very loudly and clearly
- ✓Remember stories or movies where a character can't stop thinking about or eating their favorite food because of cravings
- ✓NOT like "like" (general, soft feeling) but "cravings" are intense and urgent desires
- ✓NOT like "hunger" (need for any food) but cravings are for a specific food or thing
- ✓NOT like "habit" (regular action) but cravings can be sudden and strong feelings that interrupt normal habits
🔄 Try Other Words
- •Urge: a strong wish or need (Use when talking about a strong feeling to do something, not only for food)
- •Longing: a deep, often emotional desire (Use when the desire is more emotional and less urgent)
- •Appetite: natural desire to eat (Use when talking about general hunger, not specific strong wants)
🔍 Unboxing
- •Word parts: root "crave" + suffix "-ing" (shows the action or feeling) + plural "s"
- •Etymology: From Old English "crafian," meaning to beg or ask for eagerly
- •Historical development: Originally meant to ask for something strongly, now mostly used for strong desires, especially for food
- •Modern usage: Commonly used to describe strong, often sudden desires for specific foods or things, especially during pregnancy or dieting
💭 Reflect & Connect
•Why do you think people get cravings for certain foods but not others?
•How can understanding cravings help people make better choices about what they eat?
Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1.Pregnant women often experience cravings ___ sweet or salty foods that they usually do not eat.
2.Cravings are different from hunger because they focus on ___ specific food or flavor.
3.When someone has cravings, they feel a strong ___ that is hard to ignore.
4.People sometimes try to ___ their cravings by eating healthier alternatives.
5.Unlike regular hunger, cravings usually come on ___ and for a particular item.
6.Cravings can make it difficult to ___ a diet or healthy eating plan.
7.If you have cravings for something unusual, it might tell you about your body's ___ for certain nutrients.