From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishappetiteap‧pe‧tite /ˈæpətaɪt/ ●●○ noun 1 [countable usually singular, uncountable]HUNGRY/WANT TO EAT a desire for food Her husband always had a huge appetite. Symptoms include tiredness and loss of appetite.2 [countable]WANT a desire or liking for a particular activityappetite for She has an amazing appetite for knowledge. People seem to have an insatiable appetite (=always wanting more of something) for news of any kind. a loss of sexual appetite → whet somebody’s appetite at whet(1)COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa good/healthy appetiteGrowing children should have a healthy appetite.a big/huge/enormous appetiteBy the time Ron was 16 he had an enormous appetite.a poor appetiteA poor appetite may be a sign of illness.a small appetiteMy aunt only had a small appetite.verbshave an appetiteThere’s lots of food – I hope you have a good appetite.lose your appetiteShe was so miserable that she completely lost her appetite.give somebody an appetite (also stimulate your appetite formal)The exercise and fresh air had given us an appetite.The aroma of the herbs and spices helps stimulate the appetite. spoil/ruin your appetite (=make you not feel like eating a meal)Don’t give the children any more sweets – it will spoil their appetite.phrasesloss/lack of appetiteSymptoms include fever and loss of appetite.I’m a bit worried about her lack of appetite.
Examples from the Corpus
appetite• She must be growing; she's got a big appetite right now.• Even when Emma had gone her appetite had not slackened.• How's his appetite? Is he getting enough to eat?• His appetite was enormous, but he never seemed to put on an ounce of weight.• The public has an insatiable appetite for scandal and political controversy.• Gao Yang knew it belonged to him, but he had no appetite.• The dangers of the climb up Mt. Washington only whetted our appetite for more adventure.• The Rockefeller episode vividly demonstrates the Republican appetite for strife.• Thompson claimed he had an insatiable sexual appetite.• These transmitters modulate many of the functions impaired by depression - sleep, appetite, motivation, pleasure and so on.• He has a tremendous appetite for hard work.• Don't eat any cake now. You'll spoil your appetite.insatiable appetite• She named him Albert, and gave him an insatiable appetite for ropes.• As one would expect of two old pros with an insatiable appetite for the game, we hardly stopped talking about football.• I've started reading your column in the Sunday Express but that won't satisfy my insatiable appetite for your peerless wit.• The government is not some sinister monster gobbling up taxpayers' money simply to satisfy its own insatiable appetite.• Their observations concerning the insatiable appetite for immediate team success from the age of eight are so relevant.• The underlying problem is the insatiable appetite of modern political campaigns for ever more cash.Origin appetite (1300-1400) Old French apetit, from Latin, past participle of appetere “to try to get”, from ad- “to” + petere “to look for” 