A craving is an intense, urgent desire for something specific. When you're craving pizza, you want pizza in particular, and nothing else will quite satisfy you. Your body or mind fixates on that one thing, demanding it with unusual strength.

Cravings feel different from ordinary wants. You might want dessert after dinner, but if you're craving chocolate cake, that desire feels much stronger and more focused. Athletes sometimes crave salt after sweating heavily during practice because their bodies need to replace what they've lost.

The word suggests something almost magnetic about the desire. When you crave your grandmother's cooking after being away at camp, or crave quiet after a noisy day at school, that longing has real force behind it. People can crave physical things like food or water, but also experiences: adventure, attention, or simply a good night's sleep.