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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

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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

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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

The results challenge the belief that physical activity necessarily makes injured knees worse.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2026

Garrett said he does not back down from a challenge by teammates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2026

The challenge of getting a beautiful book into print and past the objections of China’s censors has afflicted everything from graphic novels to cookbooks.

From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2026

One challenge of roasting a whole bird is that by the time the dark meat is tender, the breast is dry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

There are letters, in white ink, that say: Do you want a challenge?

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Whether those advantages can outweigh the challenges of running computers at sea is an open question.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2026

For Ruby Cumming, the challenges of recovering from ACL surgery were deeply personal.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2026

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts have both identified trade as a priority, and they are both aware of the challenges facing our largest entitlement programs.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 14, 2026

With voter registration far from being completed, the schedule for a December vote also presented significant logistical challenges.

From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2026

Living in Steve's small Grant Park duplex allowed me to question him nonstop about the complex issues and challenges our cases and clients presented.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Instead, they organized, challenged their own party, and made themselves harder to dismiss.

From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2026

The approval could be challenged by an application to the High Court within six weeks, beginning with the day after the date of the decision.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

Doncic grabbed at his ankle immediately after he landed and Lakers staff members tended to him while Kuzma’s closeout was challenged for a potential flagrant foul.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

Bangladesh's government challenged her on Tuesday to seek extradition from India if she was genuinely determined to return.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026

There was no arguing with the fact that even with his challenged sense of style, Barack was a catch.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The results showed that the AI model could accurately recreate how laser pulses change over time and across different frequencies, even under particularly challenging conditions.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2026

In the spring, the couple filed a habeas corpus petition challenging Alikaram’s detention, which is still pending, as well as a motion to expedite the request due to a heart condition she has.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

“The experience of working with Liz helped us see how we could really formalize and build some institutional capacity to make sure great content about care gets made in a challenging media environment.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2026

Despite the challenging market environment, Richemont is benefiting from the resilience of jewelry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

At work, I met with the partner in charge of my division, asking to be given more challenging assignments.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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