dare

Word family (noun) dare daring (adjective) daring (verb) dare (adverb) daringly

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdaredare1 /deə $ der/ S3 W3 verb, modal verb 1 DO something DANGEROUS[intransitive]BRAVE to be brave enough to do something that is risky or that you are afraid to do – used especially in questions or negative sentences He wanted to ask her, but he didn’t dare. ‘I’ll tell Dad.’ ‘You wouldn’t dare!’dare (to) do something I daren’t go home. Only a few journalists dared to cover the story. She hardly dared hope that he was alive. Dare we admit this? 2 → how dare you3 → don’t you dare!4 PERSUADE somebody TO DO something[transitive]PERSUADERISK to try to persuade someone to do something dangerous or embarrassing as a way of proving that they are bravedare somebody to do something They dared Ed to steal a bottle of his father’s whiskey. So jump, then. I dare you.5 → dare I say/suggest 6 → I dare sayGrammarPatterns with dare• You say that someone dares to do something: Karen dared to ask why.Not many people dared to argue.• Dare can also be used as a modal verb, followed by the base form (=infinitive without ‘to’), especially in negatives and questions: Not many people dared argue.Dare we go back?• Don’t use a ‘to’ infinitive with daren’t. You say: I daren’t look. ✗Don’t say: I daren’t to look. Using the progressiveDare is not used in the progressive. You say: I daren’t say anything. ✗Don’t say: I am not daring say anything.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpusdare• My sister used to steal things from stores, but I would never dare.• She was so high up now that she didn't dare look down.• I don't dare tell my mom and dad.• No one dared to go into the old house at night.• Dare we take this decision without consulting the Prime Minister? dare somebody to do something• One kid dared me to sneak into the back of the auditorium.daredare2 noun [countable] RISKsomething dangerous that you have dared someone to dofor a dare British English, on a dare American English (=because someone has dared you to) She ran across a busy road for a dare.Examples from the Corpusdare• Wilson said his idea for the invention started out as a dare.• Jamal creeps into Forrester's apartment for a dare, but accidentally leaves his notebook behind.• It was a dare she accepted.• Or has Lester manipulated me into this recklessness, like a schoolboy dare?• The dare of her gaze was the proof.for a dare• And damn him for daring to pry into my affairs and for subtly mocking my singular state!• As August came round the idea for a daring re-design of Apollo 8 started to dawn.• Because tonight he would punish Detective Lieutenant Curtis for daring to offend him.• Or that of the poor themselves, for daring to bend their heads and stare?• Jamal creeps into Forrester's apartment for a dare, but accidentally leaves his notebook behind.• While the incident curbed her wilder high jinks, Diana was always game for a dare.• A youth clambered on to the roof at the back of the shop for a dare and fell through.

Quizzes

Take our quick quizzes to practise your vocabulary.
We have thousands of six-question quizzes to try.
Choose from collocations, synonyms, phrasal verbs and more.

More results

See all results

Pictures of the day

What are these?

Click on the pictures to check.

Explore topics

See all topics

Word of the day deposit a part of the cost of something you are buying that you pay some time before you pay the rest of it

Verb table

dare

Simple Form
Present
I, you, we, they	dare
he, she, it	dares
> View More
Past
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	dared
Present perfect
I, you, we, they	have dared
he, she, it	has dared
Past perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had dared
Future
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will dare
Future perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have dared
> View Less