DictionaryAI

stare

SaySTAIR/stɛɚ//stɛə/

Verbstares, staring, stared

Noun pluralstares

6 meanings of stare

Practice

  1. 1
    keep lookingverbintransitive
    To look fixedly at someone or something, holding the gaze steady rather than glancing away.

    The child stared at the magician, trying to work out the trick.

    Strangers stare when she walks down the street in her bright costume.

    UsageStare at someone or something; stare into a space or depth: stare into the fire.

    Similargaze, gape, gawk, peer, goggle

    Oppositeglance

  2. 2
    a hard looknouncountable
    A persistent gaze; a long, steady look held on a person or thing.

    The owl's unblinking stare unsettled the hikers on the trail.

    He felt the stares of the other passengers as he boarded with his tuba.

    UsageCommon in a blank stare, an icy stare, and feel the stares of others.

    Similargaze, look, glare

    Oppositeglance

  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To influence or affect someone in some way by looking fixedly at them.

    She stared her opponent down until he finally looked away.

    The detective tried to stare the witness into a confession.

    UsageNeeds a result: stare someone down, stare someone into silence.

  4. 4
    stand outverbintransitive
    To be strikingly conspicuous because of size, prominence, color, or brilliance.

    Similarglare, blaze

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    bristleverbobsoleteintransitive
    To stand out stiffly; to project or bristle, as rough hair or fur standing on end.
    Makest my blood cold, and my hair to stare.
    1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”
    Take off all the staring straws, twigs and jags in the hive.
    1707, John Mortimer, The whole Art of Husbandry
    Note

    The rigid root behind the ordinary verb of looking shows plainly in this lost use, where hair or straws stand stiffly on end. Shakespeare's Julius Caesar has "my hair to stare," and John Mortimer's The whole Art of Husbandry (1707) tells beekeepers to clear "staring straws" from the hive. Stock keepers still speak of a sick animal's rough, dull staring coat. Elsewhere a modern reader would take the word as looking.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • The looking verb derives from a root meaning to be fixed or rigid. en.wiktionary.org
    • Shakespeare's Julius Caesar contains the quoted words, spoken by Brutus in Act IV, scene iii. folger.edu
    • John Mortimer wrote The Whole Art of Husbandry, first published in 1707. en.wikipedia.org
    • Mortimer instructs beekeepers to remove projecting straws from the hive, using the words "staring straws". en.wiktionary.org
  2. 6
    starlingnounarchaic
    A starling, the small dark-feathered songbird known for gathering in large flocks.
    Note

    A different word that happens to share the spelling. It comes from Old English stær, "starling," with relatives in Swedish stare and Icelandic stari, and it has no connection to the verbs of looking. William Wood, writing in 1634, found the American stares "bigger than those in England" and as black as crows.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The bird noun has a separate etymology from the looking verb. en.wiktionary.org
    • The bird noun derives from Old English stær, meaning starling. en.wiktionary.org
    • Swedish stare and Icelandic stari are cognates of the bird noun, whose origin is separate from the looking verb. en.wiktionary.org
    • William Wood's New Englands Prospect was published in 1634. gutenberg.org
    • Wood described New England's stares as bigger than English ones and as black as crows. gutenberg.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of stare apart? Answer 2 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–5

From Middle English 'staren', from Old English 'starian' ("to stare"), and further back through Proto-Germanic roots meaning "to be fixed or rigid," from a Proto-Indo-European root *ster-. It is related to Dutch 'staren', German 'starren' ("to stare"), and German 'starr' ("stiff").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  • Stare derives from Middle English staren, from Old English starian, meaning ‘to stare’. en.wiktionary.org
  • Its ancestry includes Proto-Germanic forms meaning ‘to be fixed, be rigid’, derived from Proto-Indo-European *ster-. en.wiktionary.org
  • Stare is related to Dutch staren, German starren (‘to stare’), and German starr (‘stiff’). en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 6

From Middle English 'star', from Old English 'stær' ("starling"), from Proto-Germanic *starô and a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "starling." It is related to German 'Star', Danish 'stær', Swedish 'stare', and Icelandic 'stari', all meaning "starling."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts