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.

---

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

---

noun

1. the act or an instance of staring

stare ² British  

/ stɛə /

noun

1. dialect a starling

---

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

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stare stares stared staring

Make it a double feature if you so wish, but you might need to lie on the floor and stare at the ceiling after.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

"I would stare at her for hours because I was so enamoured by her," a woman said after sighting the shark on her third attempt.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Stupnikov sat toward the back with a vacant stare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Blending Yoruba, Catholic and mystical traditions, their photos feature jet-black subjects that blend into inky backgrounds, their eyes piercing the darkness as they stare at the viewer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

As he raised his head to stare at the shifting green leaves, the tree murmured secrets to itself, shutting him out.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

"When I'm out in public I expect stares or comments but when it comes to you in your workplace or at home it feels a bit more personal," Rhiannon, 30, said.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

My objective is to use the existing comparisons to reexamine “Promising Young Woman,” try to understand Fennell’s intentions, and look at the bleak truths her movie stares straight in the face.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

Weintraub stares blankly, Wiatt stifles a yawn, and I can’t get a clear read on Wirtschafter, though he’s not screaming hallelujah.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 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

Dad then stares at Andre until he grumbles in agreement.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

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

“He just stared at me and said, ‘You’ve got a tough one ahead of you.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Walking past, teammates either stared or smiled at the ears.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

Yet when Levine first stared at her in 2020, he had no idea who had painted her or who the woman even was.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Cocky stared at him a second, then dropped her eyes.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

From your prone position, you use a joy stick to move forward, back or down while staring into a large screen featuring real footage of the interior of the ISS taken by astronaut Scott Kelly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Some contenders for CEO jobs have been asked to answer obscure questions on psychological tests, such as: “I enjoy staring at rivers for long periods of time,” executives say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The real problem with smartphone use may not be how many hours people spend staring at their screens.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

No one sits staring mournfully at the bare lacquered table.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

The mom sees me staring and smiles, her quill earrings so long they almost dangle onto the plate.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• beam
• gawk
• glare
• look
• peer

---