stare
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to look at someone or something for a long time with your eyes wide open.
v.to gaze fixedly and intently, often with wide-open eyes. Intransitive, typically taking the preposition 'at'.
Simple“The little boy started to stare at the man's colorful hat.”
In context“She continued to stare at the horizon long after the ship had disappeared, lost in a profound sense of melancholy.”
PitfallIt is rude to stare someone. It is rude to stare at someone.The verb 'stare' requires the preposition 'at' when followed by an object.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a long, steady look at someone or something.
n.a fixed, persistent, or intent look.
Simple“He gave her a long, cold stare that made her feel uncomfortable.”
In context“The professor met the student's excuse with a skeptical stare, waiting for a more plausible explanation for the missing assignment.”
“Normally if we stare at it, we wince and quickly look away.”
“I have spent more than two decades staring at maps.”
From Middle English staren, from Old English starian (“to stare”), from Proto-West Germanic starēn, from Proto-Germanic starjaną, starāną (“to be fixed, be rigid”), from Proto-Indo-European ster-. Cognate with Dutch staren (“to stare”), German starren (“to stare”), German starr (“stiff”). More at start.
From Middle English star, ster, from Old English stær (“starling”), from Proto-Germanic starô (“starling”), from Proto-Indo-European stor- (“starling”). Cognate with German Star (“starling”), Danish stær (“starling”), Swedish stare (“starling”), Norwegian Nynorsk stare (“starling”), Icelandic stari (“starling”). Compare also Old English stearn (“a type of bird, starling”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.