stare

1 of 2

verb

ˈster 

stared; staring

intransitive verb

1

: to look fixedly often with wide-open eyes

2

: to show oneself conspicuously

the error stared from the page

3

of hair : to stand on end : bristle

also : to appear rough and lusterless

transitive verb

1

: to have an effect on by staring

2

: to look at with a searching or earnest gaze

starer noun

stare

2 of 2

noun

: the act or an instance of staring

a blank stare

Phrases

stare one in the face

: to be undeniably and forcefully evident or apparent

Synonyms

Verb

• blink
• gape
• gawk
• gawp [chiefly British]
• gaze
• goggle
• peer
• rubberneck

Noun

• aspect [archaic]
• eye
• gape
• gaze
• regard
• scrutiny

Examples of stare in a Sentence

Verb

She stared out the window.

His mother told him not to stare.

Noun

They looked at me with accusing stares.

caught the child's wide-eyed stare on film

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Positioning a lamp on an end table, Tines said that the work of the director Peter Sellars, his colleague and champion, had deepened his love of staring at audiences. —Henry Alford, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

The owls nest in burrows excavated by California ground squirrels, occasionally popping up to stare with striking yellow eyes. —Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2024

Noun

Daniel Craig, shifting about a dozen gears from James Bond, doesn’t make the mistake of impersonating the older William Burroughs who became a punk icon in the ’80s: the dry voice, the beady-eyed stare of hostility. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Sep. 2024

Think of the cold stare of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, the oversized ego and even larger insensitivity of Michael Gary Scott in The Office. —Aliza Knox, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English starian; akin to Old High German starēn to stare, Greek stereos solid, Lithuanian starinti to stiffen

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1553, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing stare

• blank stare
• fix one's eyes/gaze/stare on/upon
• look/shoot/stare daggers at
• stare at (someone)
• stare daggers
• stare decisis
• stare down
• stare/gaze (off) into space
• stare out
• stare (someone) in the eye(s)
• stare (someone) in the face

Kids Definition

stare

1 of 2 verb

ˈsta(ə)r 

ˈste(ə)r

stared; staring

: to look hard and long often with wide-open eyes

stare at a stranger

starer noun

stare

2 of 2 noun

: the act or an instance of staring