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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

She is keen to challenge the idea that the role simply involves pressing record on a smartphone.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

And mortgage rates keep going up, a challenge to future buyers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

The challenge of helping little ones process the trauma is acute for caregivers of children with special needs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

The findings, published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, challenge previous research suggesting that climate change is generally reducing the ability of forest soils to absorb methane.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

Of course, they were up to the work even without the challenge.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The discovery suggests that animals with very different evolutionary histories may have developed similar aerodynamic solutions to the challenges of flying.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

One of the biggest challenges: complying with the rule that he must remain in the home while hosting guests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

In a wide-ranging interview before the event, Kim — who was appointed in February after holding an interim presidential role — said he leads USC at a time of promise and deep challenges:

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

But does her sudden departure highlight the challenges broadcasters face covering the women's game in an ever-changing media landscape?

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

According to Gardullo, there is an important positive side to these challenges as well.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Paul Cremo, who directs the Met's commissioning program, said creating the other-worldly universe for "Bardo" -- in which tendrils engulf singers and ghosts explode -- challenged the Met's technical staff.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

While his legal fight was going on in Italy, another Ukrainian man called Volodymyr Zhuravlov successfully challenged Germany's extradition bid in a Polish court.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Another man who lost his job collecting map data to AI challenged his employer in arbitration and won compensation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

"Defendants shall not enter into, renew, or expand any agreement authorizing the development, creation, dissemination, placement, or airing of the challenged advertisements," Rochon said in the court order.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

One day he challenged me to a game of chess.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Elected to the San Diego City Council in 2008, he cast himself as a fiscal watchdog, challenging labor unions and businesses’ influence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

O'Neill believes Hearts are genuine contenders again and is anticipating a match that will be as challenging as May's dramatic title decider.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Achieving that level of precision is especially challenging for a spacecraft.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

If you have never read his work, prepare yourself for a serious undertaking—or perhaps start with something more manageable like “Perdido Street Station,” slightly less challenging at around 700 pages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Adding to the temptation to avoid race is the fact that opportunities for challenging mass incarceration on purely race-neutral grounds have never been greater.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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Related Words

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

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