stared; staring
1
: to look fixedly often with wide-open eyes
He just sat and stared out the window.
—often used with atThey stared at the scene in disbelief.
2
: to show oneself conspicuously
The error stared from the page.
3
1
: to have an effect on by staring
2
: to look at with a searching or earnest gaze
stared him up and down
starer
noun
see also:
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
Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 25 May 2026
For the first time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Avs’ mortality was staring them in the face.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 May 2026
Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Encouraged out to a party one night by his gregarious best friend (Shanti Masud), David accepts a pill from a stranger and, almost immediately afterwards, notices a young woman (Seydoux) across the room who is fixing him with a faintly predatory stare.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for stare
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Verb
Not that romance, here, means anything beyond hand-holding and giggling while awkwardly staring into each other’s eyes.
—Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 25 May 2026
For the first time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Avs’ mortality was staring them in the face.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 23 May 2026
Noun
That mugshot—with her straight dark hair, motorcycle jacket, and flat, defiant stare—would come to represent a nation, and generation, in crisis; a startling declaration that America’s own sons and daughters had turned violently against their country.
—Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Encouraged out to a party one night by his gregarious best friend (Shanti Masud), David accepts a pill from a stranger and, almost immediately afterwards, notices a young woman (Seydoux) across the room who is fixing him with a faintly predatory stare.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for stare
Cite this Entry
“Stare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stare. Accessed 26 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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