stay hungry and never settle

8.8

To keep wanting more and trying to improve without accepting being average

idiom

: mantenerse ambicioso y no conformarse

You should always stay hungry and never settle for less.

Examples

The coach's motto was to stay hungry and never settle, pushing the athletes to their limits.
She reminded her team to stay hungry and never settle if they wanted to lead their industry.
His guiding principle was to stay hungry and never settle for mediocrity in his career.
Remember to stay hungry and never settle!
His guiding principle was to stay hungry and never settle for mediocrity in his career.
She reminded her team to stay hungry and never settle if they wanted to lead their industry.
The coach's motto was to stay hungry and never settle, inspiring the athletes to strive for excellence.

Synonyms

to stay hungry for growth

vsstay hungry and never settle

7.3

To want to keep getting better and to try hard to improve

calls for broad ambition and refusing to be content with mediocrity

Antonyms

to settle

540 2.8

To become calm and still after movement or excitement

complacent

44 6.4

Too satisfied with yourself so you ignore problems or danger

How Ambitious

stay hungry and never settle

8.8

to strive

156 3.7

Surface Forms

stay hungry and never settle main

Morphology

stay + hungry + and + never + settle

The overall meaning — 'remain ambitious and do not accept mediocrity' — is directly derivable from the constituents: 'stay' (remain) + 'hungry' (metaphorically, wanting more) and 'never' + 'settle' (do not accept less). The metaphorical use of 'hungry' to mean desire/ambition is common and the clause composition follows transparent, easily predictable patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the component words should understand it.

Etymology

The phrase stay hungry and never settle uses two clear images: to be hungry means to still want more, and to settle means to stop and make a home. So it means 'keep wanting more' and 'don't be satisfied with less'.