English
challenge
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈtʃæl.ɪndʒ/, /ˈtʃæl.əndʒ/
Noun

challenge (plural challenges)

  1. A confrontation; a dare.
    1. An instigation or antagonization intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not.
    2. A bid to overcome something.
      a challenge to the king's authority
    3. (sports) An attempt to take possession; a tackle
    4. A summons to fight a duel; also, the letter or message conveying the summons.
    5. The act of a sentry in halting a person and demanding the countersign, or (by extension) the action of a computer system demanding a password, etc.
    6. An attempt to have a work of literature restricted or removed from a public library or school curriculum.
  2. A difficult task, especially one that the person making the attempt finds more enjoyable because of that difficulty.
  3. (legal) A procedure or action.
    1. (legal, rare) A judge's interest in the result of the case for which he or she should not be allowed to sit the case, e.g. a conflict of interest.
      Consanguinity in direct line is a challenge for a judge when he or she is sitting cases.
    2. The act of appealing a ruling or decision of a court of administrative agency.
    3. The act of seeking to remove a judge, arbitrator or other judicial or semi-judicial figure for reasons of alleged bias or incapacity.
      We're still waiting to hear how the court rules on our challenge of the arbitrator based on conflict of interest.
    4. (US) An exception to a person as not legally qualified to vote. The challenge must be made when the ballot is offered.
  4. (hunting) The opening and crying of hounds at first finding the scent of their game.
Translations Translations Translations Verb

challenge (challenges, present participle challenging; past and past participle challenged)

  1. (transitive) To invite (someone) to take part in a competition.
    We challenged the boys next door to a game of football.
    • c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene iv]:
      By this I challenge him to single fight.
  2. (transitive) To dare#Verb|dare (someone).
    • 1689 December (indicated as 1690)​, [John Locke], “Who Heir?”, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], OCLC 83985187 ↗, book I, paragraph 149, page 194 ↗:
      [...] For I challenge any Man to make any pretence to Power by Right of Fatherhood, either intelligible or poſſible in any one, otherwiſe, then either as Adams heir, or as Progenitor over his own deſcendants, naturally ſprung from him.
  3. (transitive) To dispute (something).
    to challenge the accuracy of a statement or of a quotation
  4. (legal, transitive) To make a formal objection to a juror.
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To claim as due; to demand as a right.
    • 1713, Joseph Addison, Cato, published 1712, [Act 1, scene 3]:
      Challenge better terms.
  6. (obsolete, transitive) To censure; to blame.
    • He complained of the emperor […] and challenged them for that he had no greater revenues […] from them.
  7. (military, transitive) To question or demand the countersign from (one who attempts to pass the lines).
    The sentinel challenged us with "Who goes there?"
  8. (US, transitive) To object to the reception of the vote of, e.g. on the ground that the person is not qualified as a voter.
  9. (Canada, US, transitive) To take (a final exam) in order to get credit for a course without taking it.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Related terms

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