stared; staring
1
: to look fixedly often with wide-open eyes
—often used with at
He just sat and stared out the window.
They 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
John McPhee, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026 Since the discovery of the bacterial flagellar motor in the 1970s, biologists and creationists alike have marveled at its design like medieval architects staring with awe at the dome of the Pantheon built by their Roman ancestors. —Quanta Magazine, 20 Apr. 2026
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2026 What followed was a wide-eyed stare into the wrong camera that, once the crew found the right angle, devolved into an unsettling mog. —Kennedy French, Variety, 12 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stare
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Two pairs of staring eyes, in intimate contact. —John McPhee, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026 Since the discovery of the bacterial flagellar motor in the 1970s, biologists and creationists alike have marveled at its design like medieval architects staring with awe at the dome of the Pantheon built by their Roman ancestors. —Quanta Magazine, 20 Apr. 2026
Noun
Still as feisty as UConn baseball fans might remember him, the original AK touched 98 MPH and had a stare-down with Jac Caglianone after a hit by pitch. —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 19 Apr. 2026 What followed was a wide-eyed stare into the wrong camera that, once the crew found the right angle, devolved into an unsettling mog. —Kennedy French, Variety, 12 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stare
Cite this Entry
“Stare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/stare. Accessed 25 Apr. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
