stare
Americanverb (used without object)
-
stares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stared,
past participle, past
-
staring
present participle
-
to gaze fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open.
-
to be boldly or obtrusively conspicuous.
The bright modern painting stares out at you in the otherwise conservative gallery.
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to be patently or compellingly obvious.
The stark, staring fact is, you can't do something with nothing.
-
(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.
verb (used with object)
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stares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stared,
past participle, past
-
staring
present participle
-
to stare at.
to stare a person up and down.
-
to effect or have a certain effect on by staring.
They all laughed at me and stared me into silence.
noun
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stares
plural
verb phrase
idioms
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stare (something) in the face, to confront or be confronted by (something unpleasant).
The company is staring bankruptcy in the face.
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stare one in the face,
-
(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.
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to be urgent or impending; be about to happen.
The income tax deadline is staring us in the face.
-
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staring down the barrel of,
-
having (a firearm) aimed at one, especially at close range.
He turned his head and found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle.
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facing (a threat, challenging situation, or imminent disaster).
Motorists are staring down the barrel of a major hike in the price of fuel.
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verb
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to look or gaze fixedly, often with hostility or rudeness
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(intr) (of an animal's fur, bird's feathers, etc) to stand on end because of fear, ill health, etc
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(intr) to stand out as obvious; glare
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to be glaringly obvious or imminent
noun
noun
Synonym Usage
See gaze.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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staresimple
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staressimple
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have staredperfect
-
has staredperfect
-
am staringprogressive
-
are staringprogressive
-
is staringprogressive
-
have been staringperfect progressive
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has been staringperfect progressive
Past
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staredsimple
-
had staredperfect
-
was staringprogressive
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were staringprogressive
-
had been staringperfect progressive
Future
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing stare
Beowulf vocabulary
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Now See Here: Words For Looking
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
Men also stare when Rosales brings her partner to these industrial spaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
How long can we all stare at hand-held rectangles?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
"You have to literally stay on duty and stare at the screen the whole time, because you can easily miss it," said Esko, who did not appear to struggle, even late into the night.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
A partial eclipse like the one the UK experienced on Wednesday meant the sun was still pretty bright, so far fewer people may have tried to stare at it directly.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Elliot visibly twitched at the word future, glancing around nervously before turning to stare daggers at me again.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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
“If somebody is giving you any kind of stares or conflict, you’ve got to talk to the staff. You can’t use your fists or your feet,” Kaye said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 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
One man stares silently at the floor, weakened by advanced liver disease and in urgent need of treatment.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
I wonder how many problem students cave and confess their deepest, darkest secrets after just a few minutes of trading stares with Ma in her office.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Elsewhere in Washington, the now-defunct US Institute of Peace was also renamed after Trump, and his face has stared down from huge banners hung outside the Justice and Agriculture Departments.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Daniell stared at me, his eyes burning with indignation.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Brit has stared down near-certain elimination in multiple matches, repeatedly breaking his opponents’ momentum with Houdini-like on-court acts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
A wave of brides and grooms made their way to MSG as bystanders stared and cheered, taxis honked and protesters gathered outside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
I bit my lip and stared at the red shawl across the room.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Days after a wall of water and debris ripped through Nepal, Shanti Lamichhane sat on a fruit crate in the dirt where her village once stood, staring at what remained of her home.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
The drugmaker isn’t staring down large near-term patent losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
He celebrated with a touch of arrogance that is so often the preserve of the special ones, staring down the Palace fans on the Holmesdale Road end.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The company is also staring down lawsuits from people and school districts that predated the settlement and are set to go to trial soon, the Times reports.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Her eyes staring straight ahead, Helen jiggles her arm so I know the brush was intentional.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
