# dare

Pronunciation: say "DAIR" US /dɛ(ə)ɹ/, UK /dɛə/

## Verb

1. To have enough courage to do something or to face or confront someone or something.
   - Simple: To be brave enough to do or face something.
   - _She wouldn't dare to walk home alone that late._
   - _Few employees dared to question the decision openly._
2. To challenge someone to do something risky or bold, as a test of their nerve.
   - Simple: To challenge someone to do something to show they are brave.
   - _Don't dare me unless you actually want me to do it._
   - _The older kids dared her to knock on the door of the empty house._

## Noun

3. A challenge to do something risky, frightening or embarrassing to prove one's courage, as when choosing 'dare' in the game truth or dare.
   - Simple: A challenge to do something scary or risky to show you are brave, as in the game truth or dare.
   - _She accepted the dare and knocked on the old house's door at midnight._
   - _Jumping from the cliff into the quarry lake began as a dare between teammates._
4. Venturesomeness or boldness; an adventurous readiness to take risks. *(literary)*
   - Simple: Boldness, or the courage to take big risks.
5. Defiance, or an act or attitude that challenges someone.
   - Simple: A bold, fighting attitude that shows you are not afraid of someone.
   - _Her steady gaze held a dare that made the manager hesitate._
   - _He wore the banned jacket to school as an open dare to the new dress code._

## Verb

6. To terrify or daunt someone. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make someone feel great fear.
7. To drive larks to the ground by frightening them (for example with mirrors or hawks) so that they can be caught in nets. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To scare larks so they drop to the ground, where hunters can catch them in nets.
8. To gaze with a vacant or foolish look, as if dumbfounded or terrified. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To stare with empty eyes, as if amazed or very scared.
9. To cower, lying low or crouching out of fear. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To lie down flat or crouch low because of fear.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A small freshwater fish, the dace.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–7** — From Middle English durren, from Old English durran, going back through Proto-Germanic *durzaną ("to dare") to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to be bold." It is related to Dutch durven, Middle High German turren, Ancient Greek thrasús ("bold") and Lithuanian drįsti.
**Meanings 8–9** — From Middle English "daren," from Old English "darian."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dare (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).