Meaning & use
crave for
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phraseinformal
To want something very strongly, especially food, comfort, or a feeling; used mainly by learners and in older writing.
Grammar: 'Crave' alone takes a direct object; 'crave for' adds a preposition and is widely considered nonstandard.
Patterns
- crave for something
- crave for someone
She said she craved for a cold drink after the long walk.
The old diary shows how he craved for peace in his final years.
phrasefixed phrase
A strong wish or longing for something, often written as 'a craving for'.
Grammar: The noun form is 'craving', and it does take 'for': 'a craving for sugar'.
Patterns
- a craving for something
He has a real craving for salty snacks at night.
Her craving for company grew stronger after she moved away.
Common combinations
- crave attention
- The young actor craved attention from the moment he arrived.
- crave chocolate
- When she is stressed, she craves chocolate.
- a craving for something
- I get a craving for spicy food in winter.
- desperately crave
- He desperately craved a few hours of quiet.
Synonyms and how they differ
- long for
- 'Long for' is the natural, standard choice when a preposition is needed: 'She longed for home'.
- yearn for
- 'Yearn for' is more literary and emotional than 'crave', and it also takes 'for'.
- desire
- 'Desire' is more formal and can take a direct object or 'for' in older writing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: crave for or grave?
crave for vs grave
'Grave' sounds similar but means a burial place or something very serious; it is not related to wanting.
Practice
Which sentence uses the verb 'crave' in the most standard way?
Choose one answer.
'Crave' takes a direct object with no preposition: 'craves a quiet weekend'. 'Craves for' is common in learner writing but is not standard; 'craves to' is not possible because 'crave' does not take a to-infinitive here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “crave for”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.