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
Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 4 Apr. 2024
In the first photo, Johnson East's daughter is on her back and wearing a headset, staring at the ceiling.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
When a total solar eclipse crosses North America on April 8, many people will don eclipse glasses and stare up at the sky.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
However, staring at the sun during an eclipse can burn the retina.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2024
Thousands of feet below the surface of the South China Sea, scientists aboard a submarine stared at the seafloor.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
The suburban or small-town nine-year-old who, a generation before, would have been running around outside with the other neighborhood kids all afternoon is now indoors, staring at her phone.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
Ten days ago, Southern Californians stared bemused at the streak of light above Los Angeles at sunset.
—Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Directly staring at the sun before and after the total eclipse, or watching a partial eclipse outside the path of totality without proper eye protection, can result in permanent damage including blurred and altered vision.
—Joel Shannon, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 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 last solar eclipse was in 2017, and (somewhat famously) then-President Donald Trump stared directly at it bare eyed—a huge health concern.
—Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 4 Apr. 2024
In the first photo, Johnson East's daughter is on her back and wearing a headset, staring at the ceiling.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
When a total solar eclipse crosses North America on April 8, many people will don eclipse glasses and stare up at the sky.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
However, staring at the sun during an eclipse can burn the retina.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2024
Thousands of feet below the surface of the South China Sea, scientists aboard a submarine stared at the seafloor.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024
The suburban or small-town nine-year-old who, a generation before, would have been running around outside with the other neighborhood kids all afternoon is now indoors, staring at her phone.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
Ten days ago, Southern Californians stared bemused at the streak of light above Los Angeles at sunset.
—Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Directly staring at the sun before and after the total eclipse, or watching a partial eclipse outside the path of totality without proper eye protection, can result in permanent damage including blurred and altered vision.
—Joel Shannon, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 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 16 Apr. 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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