Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

stare

/stɛɚ/ noun

In Latin: conspicio Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about stare at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A fixed look with eyes open wide.

verb

Look at with fixed eyes.
The students stared at the teacher with amazement
Fixate one's eyes.
The ancestor in the painting is staring down menacingly

Origin

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 Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word