I. stare 1 S3 W2 /steə $ ster/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: starian ]
1 . to look at something or someone for a long time without moving your eyes, for example because you are surprised, angry, or bored
stare at
What are you staring at?
stare (at somebody) in disbelief/amazement/horror etc
She stared at me in disbelief.
She sat there staring into space (=looking for a long time at nothing) .
2 . be staring somebody in the face
a) informal if something is staring you in the face, it is very clear or easy to notice but you have not noticed it:
The solution was staring me right in the face all along.
b) to seem impossible to avoid:
Defeat was staring us in the face.
⇨ stark staring mad at ↑ stark 2 (2)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ stare hard/intently (=very steadily, with a lot of attention)
She stared hard at him for a moment.
▪ stare fixedly (=without moving your head or eyes)
Harry stared fixedly out of the window.
▪ stare blankly (=without emotion, understanding, or interest)
Lucy stared blankly at the teacher.
▪ stare unseeingly/blindly literary (=not noticing anything, although your eyes are open)
She sat down on the bed and stared unseeingly at the wall.
▪ stare vacantly (=seeming not to notice or be thinking anything)
Mum was staring vacantly at the fire.
▪ stare moodily (=rather unhappily)
He was staring moodily into his glass.
■ phrases
▪ stare in disbelief/horror/amazement etc
Hilary stared in disbelief at the kitchen clock.
▪ stare into space (=look for a long time at nothing)
Jo's always lying on the sofa staring into space.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ look to turn your eyes towards someone or something, so that you can see them:
You should never look directly at the sun.
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After a while, he turned and looked at me.
▪ have/take a look especially spoken to look at something quickly, especially in order to find or check something:
I’ll have a look in my desk.
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Take a look at this!
▪ glance to look at someone or something for a short time and then look quickly away:
Damien glanced nervously at his watch.
▪ peek/peep ( also take a peek/peep ) to look quickly at something. Used especially when you are not supposed to look, or when you are looking through a small gap:
The door was open so he peeked inside.
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Katy peeped at her birthday present on the table.
▪ peer to look very carefully, especially because you cannot see well:
Kenji was peering at the screen.
▪ glare to look at someone in an angry way:
She glared at me as I got up to leave.
▪ stare to look at someone or something for a long time without moving your eyes:
It’s rude to stare.
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She stared straight into the camera.
▪ gaze to look at someone or something for a long time, often without realizing that you are doing it:
She gazed out of the window.
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He lay on his bed gazing at the ceiling.
▪ gape to look at someone or something for a long time, usually with your mouth open, because you are very shocked or surprised:
People gaped at him with wide-open mouths.
▪ regard formal to look at someone or something, especially in a particular way:
He regarded her steadily.
stare somebody out British English , stare somebody down American English phrasal verb
to look at someone for so long that they start to feel uncomfortable and look away
II. stare 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
when you look at something for a long time in a steady way:
She gave him a long hard stare.
She laughed, ignoring the stares of everyone around her.
His pleas were met by a blank stare (=a stare with no expression, understanding, or interest) .
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ give somebody a stare
Doyle gave her a long stare.
▪ fix somebody with a stare literary (=stare at someone)
He fixed her with a cool stare.
▪ return sb’s stare (=stare back at them)
I returned his stare and he looked away.
▪ meet sb’s stare (=look back at them)
Alan met Susan’s outraged stare calmly.
■ adjectives
▪ a hard stare (=very steady, with a lot of attention)
As he passed, he gave us a hard stare.
▪ a long stare
The man fixed him with a long, deliberate stare.
▪ a blank stare (=showing no emotion, understanding, or interest)
Mention his name, and you get mostly blank stares.
▪ a vacant stare (=seeming not to notice or be thinking anything)
She was gazing out of the window with a vacant stare.
▪ a fixed/unwavering/unblinking stare (=with your eyes not moving at all)
His unwavering stare was making me feel pretty uneasy.
▪ a cold/stony stare (=unfriendly)
I smiled and said "hello" but only got a cold stare.
▪ a cool stare (=calm)
When I expressed surprise, he responded with a cool stare.
▪ curious stares
They ignored the curious stares directed at them.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ look an act of looking at something:
Let me have a look at the map.
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I took a quick look around the room.
▪ glance a quick look at something before looking away again:
Susan cast a quick glance at me (=she looked quickly at me) .
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He could not resist a sidelong glance (=quickly looking to the side) to see what was happening on the other side of the road.
▪ glimpse a short look at someone or something in which you do not see them very clearly:
Fans were hoping to catch a glimpse of the singer as he left the hotel.
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I had only a fleeting glimpse (=a very quick look) of the two men as they ran away.
▪ gaze a long steady look:
Eddie fixed his gaze on the floor.
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She looked up and met his gaze (=looked at him when he was looking at her) .
▪ stare a long direct look, especially in an unfriendly way or in a way that shows you are surprised:
He was watching me with a cold stare.
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My cheery ‘Good Morning’ was met with a blank stare (=a stare which shows no emotion) .
▪ glare an angry look at someone:
She gave him a hostile glare as he entered the room.
▪ frown a confused or annoyed look:
‘Anyway,’ she said with a frown, ‘I don’t see how there could be a connection.’