dare
verb (used without object)
to have the necessary courage or boldness for something; be bold enough.
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dare
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Dare
DarenounVirginia 1587–?, daughter of Lost Colony settlers, the first child born in the Americas to English parents.
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DARE
DAREDictionary of American Regional English.
dare
1 American
[dair]
/ dɛər /
verb (used without object)
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dares,
present (3rd person singular)
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dare,
present (3rd person singular)
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dared,
past participle, past
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durst,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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daring
present participle
verb (used with object)
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dares,
present (3rd person singular)
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dare,
present (3rd person singular)
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dared,
past participle, past
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durst,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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daring
present participle
auxiliary verb
noun
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dares
plural
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a challenge or provocation posed to someone to test their boldness or courage.
I accepted the dare.
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an action proposed to someone as a challenge or test of boldness or courage: She knew it was going to be a humiliating dare.
Will he be able to complete the dare?
She knew it was going to be a humiliating dare.
verb phrase
idioms
Dare
2
American
[dair]
/ dɛər /
noun
DARE
3
American
dare
British
/ dɛə /
verb
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(tr) to challenge (a person to do something) as proof of courage
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(can take an infinitive with or without to) to be courageous enough to try (to do something)
she dares to dress differently from the others
you wouldn't dare!
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rare (tr) to oppose without fear; defy
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(it is) quite possible (that)
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probably: used as sentence substitute
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noun
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a challenge to do something as proof of courage
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something done in response to such a challenge
Usage
What does dare mean? While the word dare is used widely and variously for bold behavior, a dare popularly refers to a silly or risky challenge a person is compelled to do as part of children's games. What are some other forms of dare?double dareWhat are some other words related to dare?
- truth or dare
- game on
Synonym Usage
Dare, venture imply involvement in risks and dangers. Dare emphasizes the state of mind that makes one willing to meet danger: He dared to do what he knew was right. Venture emphasizes the act of doing something that involves risk: He ventured into deep water.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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daresimple
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daressimple
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have daredperfect
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have durstperfect
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has daredperfect
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has durstperfect
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am daringprogressive
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are daringprogressive
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is daringprogressive
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have been daringperfect progressive
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has been daringperfect progressive
Past
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daredsimple
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durstsimple
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had daredperfect
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had durstperfect
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was daringprogressive
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were daringprogressive
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had been daringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dare
First recorded before 900; Middle English dar (verb), Old English dear(r), 1st and 3rd person singular present indicative of durran; akin to Old High German gitarran
Explanation
When you challenge or provoke someone to try something risky, it's a dare. If you accept a dare, you're probably trying to prove how brave you are. When you challenge your friend to a dare, you dare him. You might, for example, dare your brother to jump off the garage into a pile of leaves. Another way to dare is to actually be brave: "I admire her so much, because she dares to stand up to bullies." The Old English root of dare is durran, "to brave danger, venture, or presume." If you say, "How dare you?" you're expressing outrage or indignation.
Vocabulary lists containing dare
David Crosby (1941–2023) Tribute List
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Zlateh the Goat"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 4, Week 3
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Beneath that story on the front page, a cartoon of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reading Earl Spencer's book shows the former prince asking "how dare he embarrass the King! That's my job!"
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
The result is pure, rich excess — a fashion documentary unlike any other, that manages to capture the transient joy and whimsy of an era where fashion was allowed to be, dare I say, fun.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
She offers fresh takes on subjects most comics won’t even dare to tackle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Sanctions generally aim to cut off targets from the U.S. financial system, turning them into economic pariahs and threatening companies that dare to trade with them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Every step of my application had felt like a dare, an endeavor I’d taken on because graduation was approaching and my preference for parties over academics had left me with poor grades and no plans.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
A woman named Mary Dare instructed her mother to go in person to the Union general and plead on her behalf.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Shaun Ryder and Roses Gabor assisted on a raucous version of Dare!
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Mr. O’Hanlon is the program’s director of research and author of “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
On April 26, a lawyer representing the church sent a letter to the founder of the app Dare Market, accusing the company of “inciting” a Hollywood speed run the day earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
After I said, Over a century, languishing in chains, Dare I now hope for freedom from my woes?
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
The singer riffs on some of his biggest hits, including the Gorillaz' single DARE, telling commuters: "It's coming up, it's coming up, it's... Anchorage!"
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2017
“Although language change is inevitable, it’s too bad to see some of our most colourful expressions going out of use,” said Joan Hall, former editor of DARE.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 5, 2016
The class is no longer called DARE, but the concepts are the same.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 2, 2015
DARE, as it’s familiarly known, contains records of words that no other dictionary in the world does, gathered over the course of decades by field workers going door-to-door in the United States.
From Time ● Apr. 6, 2015
"How could he DARE?" cried Lady Drew, becoming very awful.
From Tono Bungay by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Its performance history is so good that it dares you to try doing any better.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Sometimes his friends would even dare him to tell a joke about buffalo wings, the kind of dares that can only be conceived by years of friendship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
A report last week by Yale University contains a surprising dose of self-examination that dares to agree with what many of its critics have been saying for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
So, Emily dares to eat a Big Arch—the whole thing—and the hosts talk about how this kind of PR cannot be bought.
From Slate ● Mar. 7, 2026
She dares not pull herself up for fear of the noise her knees will make on the boards.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
In the first years, those who dared to object to the war or express criticism of American policy were shut down immediately.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
I had one cancel on me at pickup last week because I dared to confirm his name.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
I had never made a bolero song and I dared to do that this time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Authorities later covered the foundation of the 2019 statue with a plastic sheet, the resident said, adding: "No one has dared to complain."
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Nobody close to Stalin dared to give this adequate attention.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Then the boat turned towards me, and stayed its pace, and floated slowly by within my hand’s reach, yet I durst not handle it.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Then will ye hear, what a deed they durst at the last do?
From Against War by Desiderius Erasmus
As their master durst not then reside in Jerusalem, he retired towards the banks of the sea of Galilee, where they joined him.
From Ecce Homo! A Critical Inquiry into the History of Jesus of Nazareth: Being a Rational Analysis of the Gospels by Paul Henry Thiry Baron d' Holbach
I cannot, I durst not, belie my own soul, and commit so great a sin.
From Delusion, or The Witch of New England by Eliza Buckminster Lee
Though he durst scarcely breathe, he felt his heart beat tumultuously against his chest, at the thought of his folly and the possibility of detection.
From The History of Margaret Catchpole A Suffolk Girl by Richard Cobbold
His books on New York City planner Robert Moses and President Lyndon B. Johnson function as both biography and challenge, their hefty page counts daring readers to dive in.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Adnoc’s maritime logistics company is one of a buccaneering group staging daring “shuttle runs,” where tankers make short trips moving oil from the U.A.E. and other Persian Gulf terminals to ports just outside Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
It’s possible to get ahead of the playwright, even for a work of such scrupulous intelligence and theatrical daring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Among other posts on X from General Kainerugaba on Thursday was one that read: "I consider myself the most handsome, most daring and glorious Commander who ever lived."
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Her eyes are bold, almost as if they’re challenging the camera, daring it to catch her not smiling.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
