challenge
a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.
something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.: Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.
a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.
a demand to explain, justify, etc.: a challenge to the treasurer to itemize expenditures.
difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.
Military. the demand of a sentry for identification or a countersign.
Law. a formal objection to the qualifications of a particular juror, to that juror serving, or to the legality of an entire jury.: Compare peremptory challenge.
the assertion that a vote is invalid or that a voter is not legally qualified.
Biology. the process of inducing or assessing physiological or immunological activity by exposing an organism to a specific substance.
Hunting. the crying of a hound on finding a scent.
to summon to a contest of skill, strength, etc.
to take exception to; call in question: to challenge the wisdom of a procedure.
to demand as something due or rightful.
Military. to halt and demand identification or countersign from.
Law. to take formal exception to (a juror or jury).
to have a claim to; invite; arouse; stimulate: a matter which challenges attention.
to assert that (a vote) is invalid.
to assert that (a voter) is not qualified to vote.
to expose an organism to a specific substance in order to assess its physiological or immunological activity.
Archaic. to lay claim to.
to make or issue a challenge.
Hunting. (of hounds) to cry or give tongue on picking up the scent.
donated or given by a private, corporate, or government benefactor on condition that the recipient raise an additional specified amount from the public: a challenge grant.
Origin of challenge
1word story For challenge
Latin calumnia is the direct source of calumny, “a false and malicious statement,” so calumny and challenge are doublets (words deriving ultimately from the same source). In fact, an earlier, now obsolete meaning of challenge was “an accusation or false claim.”
The legal sense of challenge, “to object to (a juror or evidence),” dates from the 16th century. The verb sense “to summon someone to a fight or a duel” first appears in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost (1598).
Other words for challenge
Other words from challenge
- chal·lenge·a·ble, adjective
- pre·chal·lenge, verb (used with object), pre·chal·lenged, pre·chal·leng·ing.
- re·chal·lenge, verb (used with object), re·chal·lenged, re·chal·leng·ing.
- un·chal·lenge·a·ble, adjective
- un·chal·lenge·a·bly, adverb
Words Nearby challenge
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use challenge in a sentence
The federal government reacted by increasing prison sentences, making it harder to challenge wrongful convictions, enabling police searches and seizures, and enacting strict criminal codes.
How “abolish ICE” helped bring abolitionist ideas into the mainstream | Nicole Narea | July 9, 2020 | VoxThat concept—of delineating work and home as the two spaces coalesce—is ultimately the challenge of videoconferencing during a pandemic.
Microsoft’s solution to Zoom fatigue is to trick your brain | Tanya Basu | July 9, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewIt’s unclear if the union will challenge that start date if its criteria aren’t met.
Morning Report: Latinos Underrepresented So Far in Redistricting Effort | Voice of San Diego | July 9, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoFor that reason, the researchers still like the idea of an iron patch, and they describe some research identifying the challenges and working toward solutions.
What we have learned is to work collaboratively like never before, to challenge our thinking, and to accelerate the drug development process.
Harris is unlikely to see a challenge from Villaraigosa, either.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races | David Freedlander | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWhatever the FBI says, the truthers will create alternative hypotheses that try to challenge the ‘official story.’
The island faces an environmental challenge of huge proportions.
Less than six hours later, the FARC potentially came good on the challenge.
Did The U.S.-Cuba Deal Help Drive A Rebel Ceasefire in Colombia? | Richard McColl | December 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe government has blocked every opportunity to challenge this case on its merits.
I know that in putting this before you I challenge some of the most popular affectations of cultivated people.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) WellsHe even fancied that something of challenge flashed from her, though without definite words or gesture.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodHilda impetuously turned her head; their glances met for an instant, in suspicion, challenge, animosity.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold BennettThe challenge was accepted and the hay-wagon driven round and the trial commenced.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousIn a flash Isabel had responded with a challenge of appeal, which that accomplished dame was quick to understand.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
British Dictionary definitions for challenge
/ (ˈtʃælɪndʒ) /
to invite or summon (someone to do something, esp to take part in a contest)
(also intr) to call (something) into question; dispute
to make demands on; stimulate: the job challenges his ingenuity
to order (a person) to halt and be identified or to give a password
law to make formal objection to (a juror or jury)
to lay claim to (attention, etc)
(intr) hunting (of a hound) to cry out on first encountering the scent of a quarry
to inject (an experimental animal immunized with a test substance) with disease microorganisms to test for immunity to the disease
a call to engage in a fight, argument, or contest
a questioning of a statement or fact; a demand for justification or explanation
a demanding or stimulating situation, career, object, etc
a demand by a sentry, watchman, etc, for identification or a password
US an assertion that a person is not entitled to vote or that a vote is invalid
law a formal objection to a person selected to serve on a jury (challenge to the polls) or to the whole body of jurors (challenge to the array)
Origin of challenge
1Derived forms of challenge
- challengeable, adjective
- challenger, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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