stare

American  

[stair] / stɛər /

verb (used without object)

• stares,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stared,
  past participle,  past
• staring
  present participle

1. 

   to gaze fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open.

2. to be boldly or obtrusively conspicuous.

   The bright modern painting stares out at you in the otherwise conservative gallery.

3. to be patently or compellingly obvious.

   The stark, staring fact is, you can't do something with nothing.

4. (of hair, feathers, etc.) to stick out or stand on end; bristle.

   Both male and female pheasants are rough-footed and have staring feathers around the head and neck.

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verb (used with object)

• stares,
  present (3rd person singular)
• stared,
  past participle,  past
• staring
  present participle

1. to stare at.

   to stare a person up and down.

2. to effect or have a certain effect on by staring.

   They all laughed at me and stared me into silence.

noun

• stares
  plural

1. a staring gaze; a fixed look with the eyes wide open.

   The banker greeted him with a glassy stare.

verb phrase

1. stare down to cause to become uncomfortable by gazing steadily at one; overcome by staring.

   A nonsmoker at the next table tried to stare me down.

idioms

1. stare (something) in the face, to confront or be confronted by (something unpleasant).

   The company is staring bankruptcy in the face.

2. stare one in the face,

   1. (especially of something undesirable) to be patently or compellingly obvious.

      Sounds like a far-fetched theory, but when the evidence is staring you in the face, you have to take notice.

   2. to be urgent or impending; be about to happen.

      The income tax deadline is staring us in the face.

3. staring down the barrel of,

   1. having (a firearm) aimed at one, especially at close range.

      He turned his head and found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle.

   2. facing (a threat, challenging situation, or imminent disaster).

      Motorists are staring down the barrel of a major hike in the price of fuel.

stare ¹ British  

/ stɛə /

verb

1. to look or gaze fixedly, often with hostility or rudeness

2. (intr) (of an animal's fur, bird's feathers, etc) to stand on end because of fear, ill health, etc

3. (intr) to stand out as obvious; glare

4. to be glaringly obvious or imminent

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noun

1. the act or an instance of staring

stare ² British  

/ stɛə /

noun

1. dialect a starling

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Synonym Usage

See gaze.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• starer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stares
  plural

Participles

• staring
  present
• stared
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stare
  simple
• stares
  simple
• have stared
  perfect
• has stared
  perfect
• am staring
  progressive
• are staring
  progressive
• is staring
  progressive
• have been staring
  perfect progressive
• has been staring
  perfect progressive

Past

• stared
  simple
• had stared
  perfect
• was staring
  progressive
• were staring
  progressive
• had been staring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stare
  simple
• will have stared
  perfect
• will be staring
  progressive
• will have been staring
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of stare

First recorded before 900; Middle English staren, Old English starian; cognate with Dutch staren, German starren, Old Norse stara; akin to stark, starve

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Explanation

To stare is to fix your eyes on a subject. As hard as it might be to resist looking at them for long periods of time, it's not polite to stare at celebrities. The noun stare is a certain kind of gaze — a long, intense one. The verb to stare is the act of staring, of locking one's eyes somewhere. When one stares at something, one looks at it for a long period of time, often with great intensity and without blinking. That's why one loses a staring contest when one blinks. Try not to stare at people when they're eating. It's rude! A stare is usually more intense and creepier than a gaze.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stare stares stared staring

Near her village in southwestern Turkey, Nejla Isik walks through what remains of the devastated Akbelen forest, pausing to stare down at the coal mine that is devouring the hillside.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

But at some point, you have to stare into the abyss.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

"It's a kind of a stillness, or a stare - a sit stare, or just a freeze stare."

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

The noise built through the warm-ups, in the tunnel and during the anthems, until, finally, Haaland emerged into the blazing sunshine and took a long blue-eyed stare across the pitch at the five-time world champions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

She wouldn’t say a word; just stare at me with her mouth clamped shut as tight as a snapping turtle.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

One of the women, Patty Atavis, stares intently at the camera with a restless girl on her lap, Anna Whitridge, in a 1848 portrait.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Set between 2019 and 2021, Sorkin’s film stares down the dawn of a new decade, preparing for the birth of our current web of chaos, cruelty and thinly veiled deceit.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

A boy from Watts stares at the ocean, imagining ancient Greek boats sailing across the Pacific and his father in a toga and sneakers, proudly hoisting a trident.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The tension here is palpable, as she stares at the viewer through the screen as if cast out of her home by Schuyler’s physical and emotional presence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Pierre the Pineapple stares at me from the coffee table.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

"Harriet's upbringing means she needs human interaction, not to be put behind glass and stared at," he said.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

They stared ahead or conferred with their lawyers, who said they advised their clients not to look at the victims so it couldn't be misconstrued.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

Standing barefoot outside his home at 8th Street and Balboa Boulevard, holding a cup of coffee, Ross Stewart, 79, stared at the gray sky and at the berms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

I stared, knowing she could find her way home easily.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

He pulled off his headphones, and stared at us in disbelief.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Nobody’s pointing a camera at me or staring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

Campion said "he was just sitting on it staring at the ground" and it was "weird that he hadn't locked the door".

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026

The San Francisco-based content creator was staring at a 4% drop in the Nasdaq that had erased a six-figure sum from his retirement portfolio practically overnight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

He writes about mountaineering as a spiritual practice, good for the mind and body alike, while questioning why some find that clarity only by staring death in the face.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026

“This is good for toothaches,” she said, staring up at the bottle as she filled it.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

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