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challenge

American  

[chal-inj] / ˈtʃæl ɪndʒ /

noun

• challenges
  plural

1. a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.

2. something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc..

   Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.

3. a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.

4. a demand to explain, justify, etc..

   a challenge to the treasurer to itemize expenditures.

5. difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

6. Military. the demand of a sentry for identification or a countersign.

7. Law. a formal objection to the qualifications of a particular juror, to that juror serving, or to the legality of an entire jury.

8. the assertion that a vote is invalid or that a voter is not legally qualified.

9. Biology. the process of inducing or assessing physiological or immunological activity by exposing an organism to a specific substance.

10. Hunting. the crying of a hound on finding a scent.

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verb (used with object)

• challenges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• challenged,
  past participle,  past
• challenging
  present participle

1. to summon to a contest of skill, strength, etc.

   Synonyms:

   invite, bid, dare

2. to take exception to; call in question.

   to challenge the wisdom of a procedure.

   Synonyms:

   doubt, impute, question

3. to demand as something due or rightful.

4. Military. to halt and demand identification or countersign from.

5. Law. to take formal exception to (a juror or jury).

6. to have a claim to; invite; arouse; stimulate.

   a matter which challenges attention.

7. to assert that (a vote) is invalid.

8. to assert that (a voter) is not qualified to vote.

9. to expose an organism to a specific substance in order to assess its physiological or immunological activity.

10. Archaic. to lay claim to.

verb (used without object)

• challenges,
  present (3rd person singular)
• challenged,
  past participle,  past
• challenging
  present participle

1. to make or issue a challenge.

2. Hunting. (of hounds) to cry or give tongue on picking up the scent.

adjective

1. 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.

challenge British  

/ ˈtʃælɪndʒ /

verb

1. to invite or summon (someone to do something, esp to take part in a contest)

2. (also intr) to call (something) into question; dispute

3. to make demands on; stimulate

   the job challenges his ingenuity

4. to order (a person) to halt and be identified or to give a password

5. law to make formal objection to (a juror or jury)

6. to lay claim to (attention, etc)

7. (intr) hunting (of a hound) to cry out on first encountering the scent of a quarry

8. to inject (an experimental animal immunized with a test substance) with disease microorganisms to test for immunity to the disease

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noun

1. a call to engage in a fight, argument, or contest

2. a questioning of a statement or fact; a demand for justification or explanation

3. a demanding or stimulating situation, career, object, etc

4. a demand by a sentry, watchman, etc, for identification or a password

5. an assertion that a person is not entitled to vote or that a vote is invalid

6. 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 )

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• challenger
  noun
• prechallenge
  verb (used with object)
• rechallenge
  verb (used with object)
• challengeable
  adjective
• unchallengeable
  adjective
• unchallengeably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• challenges
  plural

Participles

• challenging
  present
• challenged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• challenge
  simple
• challenges
  simple
• have challenged
  perfect
• has challenged
  perfect
• am challenging
  progressive
• are challenging
  progressive
• is challenging
  progressive
• have been challenging
  perfect progressive
• has been challenging
  perfect progressive

Past

• challenged
  simple
• had challenged
  perfect
• was challenging
  progressive
• were challenging
  progressive
• had been challenging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will challenge
  simple
• will have challenged
  perfect
• will be challenging
  progressive
• will have been challenging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of challenge

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English chalenge, from Old French, variant of chalonge, from Latin calumnia “false statement”; see calumny

Explanation

A challenge is something that puts you to the test — like running your first marathon or reading War and Peace. Challenge, as a verb, is derived from a Latin word meaning "to accuse falsely," and it is still used much as it was in the 13th century, in the sense of questioning whether something is true or right. Students sometimes challenge a weeknight curfew, and lawyers might challenge the evidence submitted by the other side in a lawsuit. Challenge is also used as a noun for a competition in which people challenge one another to prove that they’re the best at something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

challenge challenges challenged challenging

It’s imperative that films challenge us and encourage discussion, even the bad ones.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

There are already laws on school uniform in Northern Ireland, and Givan had previously said they give girls the legal authority to challenge their schools.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Otherwise, to challenge it, you’d literally need to bring lawsuits in all 96 federal district courts.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

It was an unlikely project for a busy news executive, wife and mother who knew little about butterflies, and Ms. Korsgaard wasn’t initially sure why she’d assigned herself the challenge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Turkey Vulture explained that today’s challenge was a race to build a shelter on the top of Mount Eclipse.

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

Researchers estimate that the remaining technical challenges could be solved within the next 5-10 years.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

We anticipated logistical challenges and ethical complexities, including potential trauma reactivation and our inability to provide clinical care.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

In the final months of Harald's life, Norway's royal family faced personal challenges and scandal.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

What makes Kinsella's return so unique are the obvious challenges - and changes to the body - pregnancy and childbirth brings.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

In their thirties, men and women, black and white, these lawyers were comfortable with one another in a way that reflected a shared mission, shared hope, and shared stress about the challenges they faced.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Quantum mechanics has always challenged our everyday understanding of reality.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

Carr has challenged the status of “The View,” arguing that the topical chat show is not a bona fide news program and, thus, should not be entitled to the exemption.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Chief Executive Charlie Morrison said the acceleration in transactions is particularly encouraging, given challenged traffic trends across the industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Earlier this week, Bessent challenged traders to “bet against me if you want.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

He had just challenged twenty-six men, a lieutenant, and two detectives to a duel.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Technical indicators speak to PayPal challenging Visa, Mastercard, and Block in coming months.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

In the American context, after all, Oscar season is just about the last place for broad, sustained attention to challenging studio fare, bold independents, international features and documentaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Despite robust sales for breakout titles, publishing remains a challenging business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

"This was a challenging data analysis process, requiring a detailed understanding of the many sources of contamination that can affect such a faint measurement," Professor Santos added.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

Plus, the work was not intellectually challenging to him.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

• ask for
• assert
• call for
• claim
• confront
• defy
• demand
• denounce
• impose
• require
• test
• try