dare
verb (used without object)
to have the necessary courage or boldness for something; be bold enough.
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dare
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Dare
DarenounVirginia 1587–?, daughter of Lost Colony settlers, the first child born in the Americas to English parents.
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DARE
DAREDictionary of American Regional English.
dare
1 American
[dair]
/ dɛər /
verb (used without object)
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dares,
present (3rd person singular)
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dare,
present (3rd person singular)
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dared,
past participle, past
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durst,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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daring
present participle
verb (used with object)
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dares,
present (3rd person singular)
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dare,
present (3rd person singular)
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dared,
past participle, past
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durst,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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daring
present participle
auxiliary verb
noun
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dares
plural
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a challenge or provocation posed to someone to test their boldness or courage.
I accepted the dare.
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an action proposed to someone as a challenge or test of boldness or courage: She knew it was going to be a humiliating dare.
Will he be able to complete the dare?
She knew it was going to be a humiliating dare.
verb phrase
idioms
Dare
2
American
[dair]
/ dɛər /
noun
DARE
3
American
dare
British
/ dɛə /
verb
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(tr) to challenge (a person to do something) as proof of courage
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(can take an infinitive with or without to) to be courageous enough to try (to do something)
she dares to dress differently from the others
you wouldn't dare!
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rare (tr) to oppose without fear; defy
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(it is) quite possible (that)
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probably: used as sentence substitute
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noun
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a challenge to do something as proof of courage
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something done in response to such a challenge
Usage
What does dare mean? While the word dare is used widely and variously for bold behavior, a dare popularly refers to a silly or risky challenge a person is compelled to do as part of children's games. What are some other forms of dare?double dareWhat are some other words related to dare?
- truth or dare
- game on
Synonym Usage
Dare, venture imply involvement in risks and dangers. Dare emphasizes the state of mind that makes one willing to meet danger: He dared to do what he knew was right. Venture emphasizes the act of doing something that involves risk: He ventured into deep water.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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daresimple
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daressimple
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have daredperfect
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have durstperfect
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has daredperfect
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has durstperfect
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am daringprogressive
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are daringprogressive
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is daringprogressive
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have been daringperfect progressive
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has been daringperfect progressive
Past
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daredsimple
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durstsimple
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had daredperfect
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had durstperfect
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was daringprogressive
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were daringprogressive
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had been daringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dare
First recorded before 900; Middle English dar (verb), Old English dear(r), 1st and 3rd person singular present indicative of durran; akin to Old High German gitarran
Explanation
When you challenge or provoke someone to try something risky, it's a dare. If you accept a dare, you're probably trying to prove how brave you are. When you challenge your friend to a dare, you dare him. You might, for example, dare your brother to jump off the garage into a pile of leaves. Another way to dare is to actually be brave: "I admire her so much, because she dares to stand up to bullies." The Old English root of dare is durran, "to brave danger, venture, or presume." If you say, "How dare you?" you're expressing outrage or indignation.
Vocabulary lists containing dare
David Crosby (1941–2023) Tribute List
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"Zlateh the Goat"
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Unit 4, Week 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“And how dare you stain the brain of my child.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Ms. Hüller, however—the superb actress from such films as “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Toni Erdmann” and, dare I say, “Digger”—gets more room to maneuver, not being burdened by the weight of playing a Great Man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
"Seeing the condition of the recently burned lands... we didn't dare to gamble and assume he'll survive."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Beneath that story on the front page, a cartoon of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reading Earl Spencer's book shows the former prince asking "how dare he embarrass the King! That's my job!"
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
“How dare you speak Mr. Pinkerton’s name together in the same breath with your father’s,” she snapped.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Dance-punk artist The Dare went on around midnight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
A woman named Mary Dare instructed her mother to go in person to the Union general and plead on her behalf.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Twenty minutes later, they are on stage rehearsing The Happy Dictator; followed by Shaun Ryder, hamming up his part on the 2005 classic Dare!
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Mr. O’Hanlon is the program’s director of research and author of “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
For some strange reason, I found myself thinking about Hoover Dam, and the odd mortal girl I’d run into there, Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
The singer riffs on some of his biggest hits, including the Gorillaz' single DARE, telling commuters: "It's coming up, it's coming up, it's... Anchorage!"
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2017
“Although language change is inevitable, it’s too bad to see some of our most colourful expressions going out of use,” said Joan Hall, former editor of DARE.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 5, 2016
The class is no longer called DARE, but the concepts are the same.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 2, 2015
DARE, says linguist Ben Zimmer, is “the most important record that we have of the way Americans speak and how Americans reflect society through language.”
From Time ● Apr. 6, 2015
Ride with them and with me, if you DARE, Captain Hector Coles, and see who goes furthest!
From The Coward A Novel of Society and the Field in 1863 by Henry Morford
Every so often, though, a political party dares to dream.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026
The Thai government has called her an "inspiration to anyone who dares to dream big".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Its performance history is so good that it dares you to try doing any better.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
A report last week by Yale University contains a surprising dose of self-examination that dares to agree with what many of its critics have been saying for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
A crowd is milling outside the embassy gates, but no one dares to enter.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
In the first years, those who dared to object to the war or express criticism of American policy were shut down immediately.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Buoyed by a youthful sense of invincibility, they dared one another to leap, waiting for another to move, like emperor penguin chicks before a first arctic plunge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Now, Parker dared Gorsuch to take his “property,” announcing, “I intend to fight.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"It is truly my dearest wish that this opens the way for other women who might not have dared until now," the 59-year-old, who lives in Anglet in southwestern France, said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The dragon had left her quaking, and even now she still shook with the adrenaline, though her expression dared him to mention it.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Then the boat turned towards me, and stayed its pace, and floated slowly by within my hand’s reach, yet I durst not handle it.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
I hope so too, Madam; I am sure for any man: and were I otherwise, Of all the services my hopes could point at, I durst not touch at yours.
From Beaumont & Fletcher's Works (3 of 10): The Loyal Subject by Francis Beaumont
Those around him listened to his words with astonishment, and not one of them durst say: "Dismount from your horse, you cannot see ten yards in front of you!"
From The Slaves of the Padishah by M?r J?kai
Though he durst scarcely breathe, he felt his heart beat tumultuously against his chest, at the thought of his folly and the possibility of detection.
From The History of Margaret Catchpole A Suffolk Girl by Richard Cobbold
I cannot, I durst not, belie my own soul, and commit so great a sin.
From Delusion, or The Witch of New England by Eliza Buckminster Lee
A police source said that Nunez had raised the alarm because "there is a risk. And it discourages the less daring from taking part."
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
It soon distinguished itself as a top-of-line competitor in aircraft aerobatics because of its impressive ability to execute daring rolls, spins, loops and dives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Between this film and last year’s wonderful “Pillion,” he’s proven himself a daring performer, willing to approach love from its strangest, most complicated and genuine sides.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
Engineers cut the masts free during a daring project, initially estimated to cost £9.5m.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
There was a brief interlude while Gelifen objected, and his feathers were smoothed, and Mal ate more than her fair share of the remaining cheese and raised her eyebrows at Christopher, daring him to object.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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