Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An instinctive physical desire, especially one for food or drink.
  • noun A strong wish or urge.
  • noun A collective demand.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To desire; long for; deeply want.
  • To satisfy the appetite or desire of.
  • noun An innate or acquired demand or propensity to satisfy a want; desire, especially strong desire; inclination; wish to attain some object or purpose: with for (formerly with of, to, or an infinitive) or absolutely.
  • noun Specifically— A desire to supply a bodily want or craving; a desire for food or drink.
  • noun Relish for food; the capacity of taking food with pleasure.
  • noun Preference; taste; liking: as, to or according to one's appetite, that is, as one pleases.
  • noun A thing desired.
  • noun A tendency of an inanimate thing analogous to a desire.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The desire for some personal gratification, either of the body or of the mind.
  • noun Desire for, or relish of, food or drink; hunger.
  • noun Any strong desire; an eagerness or longing.
  • noun obsolete Tendency; appetency.
  • noun obsolete The thing desired.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Desire for, or relish of, food or drink; hunger.
  • noun Any strong desire; an eagerness or longing.
  • noun The desire for some personal gratification, either of the body or of the mind.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a feeling of craving something

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English apetit, from Old French, from Latin appetītus, strong desire, from past participle of appetere, to strive after : ad-, ad- + petere, to seek; see pet- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English appetit, from Old French apetit (French appétit), from Latin appetitus, from appetere ("to strive after, long for"); ad + petere ("to seek"). See petition, and compare with appetence.

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Examples

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  • apetito

    September 7, 2009