Thirsty means needing or wanting to drink something. When you're thirsty after playing outside on a hot day, your body is telling you it needs water. You might feel your mouth getting dry or think constantly about a cold glass of lemonade.

Your body uses water constantly, and when it needs more, it sends you the signal of thirst. Athletes get especially thirsty during games because they lose water through sweat. Desert travelers in old stories were sometimes dying of thirst, desperately needing water to survive.

The word also describes things that seem to need water: thirsty plants droop and wilt until you water them, and thirsty soil is dry and cracked.

In slang, people sometimes use thirsty to describe someone who seems too eager for attention or approval, like a student who constantly interrupts class trying to impress the teacher. But the main meaning is simply that physical need for something to drink, whether you're parched after soccer practice or just ready for your morning orange juice.