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stare
[ stair ]
verb (used without object)
- 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.
- 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)
- 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
- a staring gaze; a fixed look with the eyes wide open:
The banker greeted him with a glassy stare.
verb phrase
- to cause to become uncomfortable by gazing steadily at one; overcome by staring:
A nonsmoker at the next table tried to stare me down.
stare
1/ ɛə /
verb
- introften foll byat to look or gaze fixedly, often with hostility or rudeness
- intr (of an animal's fur, bird's feathers, etc) to stand on end because of fear, ill health, etc
- intr to stand out as obvious; glare
- stare one in the faceto be glaringly obvious or imminent
noun
- the act or an instance of staring
stare
2/ ɛə /
noun
- dialect.a starling
Derived Forms
- ˈٲ, noun
Other Word Forms
- ٲ· noun
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of stare1
Origin of stare2
Idioms and Phrases
- stare (something) in the face, to confront or be confronted by (something unpleasant):
The company is staring bankruptcy in the face.
- 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.
- to be urgent or impending; be about to happen:
The income tax deadline is staring us in the face.
- 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.
- facing (a threat, challenging situation, or imminent disaster):
Motorists are staring down the barrel of a major hike in the price of fuel.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
"Even with AI helping, there's no way you can stare at the numbers that are on these sites, and not be moved and not be concerned," he said in a video call.
Yet, even as he stares down the barrel of a gun, he harbors the delusional hope that he can puppeteer this relationship back to life.
Despite their dreariness as a couple, Janet does come armed with a stare so blank it looks like she saw a ghost and never recovered.
We were just literally staring up into space.
But the mission's beating heart is a dark shipping container on deck where four people stare at screens mounted on a wall.
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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.
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