stared; staring
1
: to look fixedly often with wide-open eyes
2
: to show oneself conspicuously
the error stared from the page
3
starer
noun
Synonyms
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
Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
If Bradley hadn’t already felt a kinship with his character before, staring into Jack Rooney’s eyes — or having Jack Rooney stare back at him — certainly clinched it.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
With her hair in a high pony tail, Pippen, in a zebra striped outfit, stands with her arms crossed, trees behind her, staring at the camera.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
In a quieter, riskier moment, Malik and Eric lie on the floor of an empty apartment space and stare at the oppressive vault of the ceiling, willing it, in a hallucinatory reverie, into a starry vision of freedom.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
When the lights return, the pair can only stare at one another in shock as debris rain down upon them.
—EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
However, staring at the solar eclipse without proper eye protection can cause permanent eye damage to the retina.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Gosling stared alongside Emma Stone in the musical movie.
—USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
You might be tempted to stare in the direction of the Lyra constellation, but experts recommend letting your eyes roam around the entire sky.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024
Many thirsted over him on social media: The smoldering stare.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024
Priyamani is a top government official in the film and her pauses, sighs and stares are all full of meaning.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
An aggressive mountain lion may fixate on you with an unblinking stare, a behavior distinct from many animals that typically avoid direct eye contact.
—Craig Caudill, Field & Stream, 14 Feb. 2024
No one quite knew how to use this tall comedian with the deadpan stare and an ability to go from 1 to 1,000 on the rage scale in seconds flat.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024
There’s also a Seinfeld reference, when guest stars Annie Mumolo and Rob Riggle, the latter playing a fictional Seinfeld writer, bring up the sensitive topic of the series finale and Larry shoots them a death stare.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Feb. 2024
Eventually, however, Hermes (played by Lillias White) gave the house an authoritative settle down stare.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2024
Philly sits with demonstrative defiance, anchoring his beagle butt to the pavement, and gives you a stubborn stare.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2024
Verb
The toddler wore a pair of dark gray shorts and white sneakers to complete his look and covered his mouth with his hand while staring off to the side.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
If Bradley hadn’t already felt a kinship with his character before, staring into Jack Rooney’s eyes — or having Jack Rooney stare back at him — certainly clinched it.
—Adam B. Vary, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
With her hair in a high pony tail, Pippen, in a zebra striped outfit, stands with her arms crossed, trees behind her, staring at the camera.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
In a quieter, riskier moment, Malik and Eric lie on the floor of an empty apartment space and stare at the oppressive vault of the ceiling, willing it, in a hallucinatory reverie, into a starry vision of freedom.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
When the lights return, the pair can only stare at one another in shock as debris rain down upon them.
—EW.com, 22 Apr. 2024
However, staring at the solar eclipse without proper eye protection can cause permanent eye damage to the retina.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
Gosling stared alongside Emma Stone in the musical movie.
—USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
You might be tempted to stare in the direction of the Lyra constellation, but experts recommend letting your eyes roam around the entire sky.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Apr. 2024
Noun
The thousand-yard stare in her eyes is in danger of becoming permanent.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024
Many thirsted over him on social media: The smoldering stare.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024
Priyamani is a top government official in the film and her pauses, sighs and stares are all full of meaning.
—Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
An aggressive mountain lion may fixate on you with an unblinking stare, a behavior distinct from many animals that typically avoid direct eye contact.
—Craig Caudill, Field & Stream, 14 Feb. 2024
No one quite knew how to use this tall comedian with the deadpan stare and an ability to go from 1 to 1,000 on the rage scale in seconds flat.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024
There’s also a Seinfeld reference, when guest stars Annie Mumolo and Rob Riggle, the latter playing a fictional Seinfeld writer, bring up the sensitive topic of the series finale and Larry shoots them a death stare.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Feb. 2024
Eventually, however, Hermes (played by Lillias White) gave the house an authoritative settle down stare.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2024
Philly sits with demonstrative defiance, anchoring his beagle butt to the pavement, and gives you a stubborn stare.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stare.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stare
Cite this Entry
“Stare.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stare. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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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