A hankering is a strong, persistent craving or desire for something. When you have a hankering for chocolate chip cookies, you can't stop thinking about them. When your dad gets a hankering to go fishing, he really wants to grab his rod and head to the lake right away.

The word suggests wanting something with a restless, nagging quality. A hankering has an intensity that keeps pulling at your thoughts. You might want new sneakers, but you have a hankering for adventure, for your grandmother's apple pie, or for a particular book you've been dying to read.

Hankerings often come unexpectedly. You might suddenly develop a hankering for swimming on a hot day, or wake up with a hankering to build something with your hands. The feeling sticks with you, tugging at your attention until you satisfy it. When someone says, “I've got a hankering for pizza,” they mean the desire has taken hold and won't easily let go. It's one of those wonderful words that sounds exactly like what it means: a persistent, almost hungry feeling for something specific.