Trivia Time

The Ice Bucket Challenge raised money for research into which disease?

Test Your Knowledge

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.

---

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

---

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

But staying out of her own head when things break against her is proving to be the greatest challenge she faces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

The challenge is learning how to translate those infrared signals into reliable estimates of composition.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

It was a "huge challenge" to have 100 a month, he said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Girls have 'legal right to challenge schools to wear trousers'

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

From day one, Washington’s challenge was to whip his troops into shape.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

"We want to be open institutions; at the same time, we are facing new challenges and attacks against museums that will require new standards."

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The corporation said at the time that it was "exceptionally proud" of the shows, but they had to make "difficult choices in light of our funding challenges".

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

That sparked ultimately unsuccessful environmental challenges to the relocation plan, citing risks to marine life such as the endangered dugong, a relative of the manatee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The tutors—several on the market are reported to be effective—are amazingly effective at some of the thorniest pedagogical challenges, especially adapting to the individual needs of students.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

If we fail to appreciate the differences, we will be hindered in our ability to meet the challenges created by the current moment.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Instead, it grew out of a class assignment in which Wu challenged students to demonstrate how information theory could be used to solve a real problem.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

An ongoing lawsuit brought by AAP and other medical groups challenged the changes, which did not go into effect.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

Asked whether he challenged their leaders over why they had not taken up students' concerns more forcefully, Dipke said he had not.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

It’s being challenged in court, but perhaps Mr. Smith-Njigba should ask to be traded.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

This assumption challenged everything physicists had assumed about the motion of objects.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Having to deal with a challenging loss at a young age has given Raymond the perspective to approach his teammates with empathy, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Nims's family say they are deeply grateful to the "extraordinary team led by our brother, Mingma G, who worked in incredibly challenging conditions to bring Nimsdai home".

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

They have special expertise and contribute to a range of challenging disciplinary areas.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

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