“Crave” or “crave for”?

Is it better to use “crave” or “crave for”?

We would normally say “I crave an apple pie”, and not “I crave for an apple pie”.

One definition of the verb “to crave” is “to have a great desire for”. If we were to say “I crave for an apple pie” we would be saying “I have a great desire for for an apple pie”. We don’t need the extra “for”.

There are two other things you might want to know.

One is that “crave” can sound a bit old-fashioned now. It’s a good word to know, but “I really want an apple pie” might be more usual in everyday speech.

The second is that there is a noun: “craving”. People often use this word – and followed it with “for”. We can say “I have a craving for apple pie”. Pregnant women often have irresistible desires for particular foods. These are called cravings. They might say “I have a craving for raspberries” or “I have a craving for cheese and onion crisps”. Then their partners have to go searching for raspberries, cheese and onion crisps or whatever at all times of day and night.

^{With thanks to Elizaveta for the question}

^{Posted by Graham}