pine for
phrasal verb
pined for; pining for; pines for
: to feel very sad because one wants (something) or because one is not with (someone)
She was pining for the old days.
He's pining for his college sweetheart.
Examples of pine for in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There were certainly parts about home that Marner wasn’t pining for.
—
Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
As Shane and Ilya pine for one another.
—Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025
After the best of the album’s crescendos, Ellis strips everything away again, pining for a character named Annie.
—Hannah Jocelyn, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2025
New York City Councilwoman and socialist Alexa Avilés is also reportedly pining for Goldman’s seat and will seek the endorsement of the city’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter.
—Ross O'Keefe, The Washington Examiner, 9 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pine for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pine%20for. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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