Oxford Dictionary English

stare

verb
verb
BrE BrE//steə(r)//
; NAmE NAmE//ster//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they stare
BrE BrE//steə(r)//
; NAmE NAmE//ster//
 he / she / it stares
BrE BrE//steəz//
; NAmE NAmE//sterz//
 past simple stared
BrE BrE//steəd//
; NAmE NAmE//sterd//
 past participle stared
BrE BrE//steəd//
; NAmE NAmE//sterd//
 -ing form staring
BrE BrE//ˈsteərɪŋ//
; NAmE NAmE//ˈsterɪŋ//
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  • [intransitive] stare (at somebody/something) to look at somebody/something for a long time I screamed and everyone stared. I stared blankly at the paper in front of me. They stared up at the hole in the ceiling. He sat staring into space (= looking at nothing). She looked at them with dark staring eyes. Synonymsstaregaze peer glareThese words all mean to look at somebody/​something for a long time.stare to look at somebody/​something for a long time, especially with surprise or fear, or because you are thinking:I screamed and everyone stared.gaze (rather formal) to look steadily at somebody/​something for a long time, especially with surprise or love, or because you are thinking:We all gazed at Marco in amazement.peer to look closely or carefully at something, especially when you cannot see it clearlyglare to look angrily at somebody/​something for a long time:I looked at her and she glared stonily back.Patterns to stare/​gaze/​peer/​glare at somebody/​something to stare/​gaze/​peer/​glare suspiciously to stare/​gaze/​peer anxiously/​intently to stare/​gaze/​glare wildly/​fiercely Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbfixedly, hard, intently, … verb + stareseem to, continue to, turn to, … prepositionat, across, around, … phrasessit staring, stand staring, sit and stare, … See full entry
    •  Word OriginOld English starian, of Germanic origin, from a base meaning ‘be rigid’.Extra examples Everyone in the room turned to stare at her. For a long moment they just stared at each other. He just stared at her with disbelief. He stared at me bleakly and said nothing. He stared straight ahead and did not move. He was still staring at himself in the mirror. His party was staring into the abyss. I could see a man staring at me intently. I sat staring at the ruins of the building. I stared at him open-mouthed, unable to speak. I stared in horror at his bloody mouth. It was too cold to stand and stare. She could only stare at him with pain in her eyes. She stalked off, leaving them all staring after her. She stared at him stonily as he came in. She stared back at him. She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her. She was just sitting there, staring into space. He sat for hours just staring into space. Peter stared in disbelief at the message on the screen. The builder stared up at the crack in the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. The passengers stared wide-eyed as the hijacker took out a grenade.Idioms
      be staring somebody in the face
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    1. 1to be obvious or easy to see The answer was staring us in the face.
    2. 2to be certain to happen Defeat was staring them in the face.
    be staring something in the face
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    to be unable to avoid something They were staring defeat in the face.     Phrasal Verbsstare out
    See stare in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
    Check pronunciation: stare
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