a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.
something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.:Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.
a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.
a demand to explain, justify, etc.: a challenge to the treasurer to itemize expenditures.
difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.
Military. the demand of a sentry for identification or a countersign.
Law. a formal objection to the qualifications of a particular juror, to his or her serving, or to the legality of an entire jury.Compare peremptory challenge.
the assertion that a vote is invalid or that a voter is not legally qualified.
Biology. the process of inducing or assessing physiological or immunological activity by exposing an organism to a specific substance.
Hunting. the crying of a hound on finding a scent.
verb (used with object),chal·lenged,chal·leng·ing.
to summon to a contest of skill, strength, etc.
to take exception to; call in question: to challenge the wisdom of a procedure.
to demand as something due or rightful.
Military. to halt and demand identification or countersign from.
Law. to take formal exception to (a juror or jury).
to have a claim to; invite; arouse; stimulate: a matter which challenges attention.
to assert that (a vote) is invalid.
to assert that (a voter) is not qualified to vote.
to expose an organism to a specific substance in order to assess its physiological or immunological activity.
Archaic. to lay claim to.
verb (used without object),chal·lenged,chal·leng·ing.
to make or issue a challenge.
Hunting. (of hounds) to cry or give tongue on picking up the scent.
adjective
donated or given by a private, corporate, or government benefactor on condition that the recipient raise an additional specified amount from the public: a challenge grant.
Origin of challenge
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English chalenge, from Old French, variant of chalonge, from Latin calumnia “false statement”; see calumny
SYNONYMS FOR challenge
11 dare, bid, invite.
12 question, impute, doubt.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR challenge ON THESAURUS.COM
historical usage of challenge
The English verb challenge comes from Middle English kalange(n), chalenge(n) “to accuse, claim,” which comes from the Old French verb calonger, calanger, chalonger, chalanger (with still more variants) “to protest, complain,” from Latin calumniārī “to bring false accusations, interpret wrongly, misrepresent, criticize unfairly,” itself a derivation of the noun calumnia, with legal meanings “false accusation, false claim, false pretenses, the making of unfounded objections, trickery.” (The Old French noun chalenge, chalonge is a regular development of Latin calumnia: the cluster -mni- becomes -nge in French, as Latin somnium “dream” becomes Old French songe with the same meaning.) Latin calumnia is the direct source of calumny, “a false and malicious statement,” so calumny and challenge are doublets (words deriving ultimately from the same source). In fact, an earlier, now obsolete meaning of challenge was “an accusation or false claim.” The legal sense of challenge, “to object to (a juror or evidence),” dates from the 16th century. The verb sense “to summon someone to a fight or a duel” first appears in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost (1598).
OTHER WORDS FROM challenge
chal·lenge·a·ble,adjectivepre·chal·lenge,verb (used with object),pre·chal·lenged,pre·chal·leng·ing.re·chal·lenge,verb (used with object),re·chal·lenged,re·chal·leng·ing.un·chal·lenge·a·ble,adjective
The federal government reacted by increasing prison sentences, making it harder to challenge wrongful convictions, enabling police searches and seizures, and enacting strict criminal codes.
How “abolish ICE” helped bring abolitionist ideas into the mainstream|Nicole Narea|July 9, 2020|Vox
That concept—of delineating work and home as the two spaces coalesce—is ultimately the challenge of videoconferencing during a pandemic.
Microsoft’s solution to Zoom fatigue is to trick your brain|Tanya Basu|July 9, 2020|MIT Technology Review
It’s unclear if the union will challenge that start date if its criteria aren’t met.
Morning Report: Latinos Underrepresented So Far in Redistricting Effort|Voice of San Diego|July 9, 2020|Voice of San Diego
For that reason, the researchers still like the idea of an iron patch, and they describe some research identifying the challenges and working toward solutions.
The Athlete's Guide to Boosting Iron|Alex Hutchinson|July 8, 2020|Outside Online
What we have learned is to work collaboratively like never before, to challenge our thinking, and to accelerate the drug development process.
Healthcare is in the midst of a ‘paradigm shift’|Alan Murray|July 8, 2020|Fortune
Harris is unlikely to see a challenge from Villaraigosa, either.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Whatever the FBI says, the truthers will create alternative hypotheses that try to challenge the ‘official story.’
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?|Shane Harris|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Less than six hours later, the FARC potentially came good on the challenge.
Did The U.S.-Cuba Deal Help Drive A Rebel Ceasefire in Colombia?|Richard McColl|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The government has blocked every opportunity to challenge this case on its merits.
Special Forces’ $77M ‘Hustler’ Hits Back|Kevin Maurer|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Where will the home care workers come from to meet that challenge?
Care Providers Fight for $15 and a Union|Jasmin Almodovar, Shirley Thompson|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We ought to take quite a place in the county, and challenge other schools for matches.
For the School Colours|Angela Brazil
With both it was “To do or die,” and each can feel that none, save his rival, can challenge supremacy in war-like exploit.
The Battle of Allatoona, October 5th, 1864|William Ludlow
My father,” says Judith, in challenge, “was a very good man.
The Cruise of the Shining Light|Norman Duncan
Ben then printed a challenge in the papers, in which he offered to fight Allen for two thousand five hundred dollars a side.
The Life and Adventures of Ben Hogan, the Wickedest Man in the World|Benedict Hogan
Under the circumstances they had expected and even hoped their challenge would be declined.
Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore|Pauline Lester
British Dictionary definitions for challenge
challenge
/ (ˈtʃælɪndʒ) /
verb(mainly tr)
to invite or summon (someone to do something, esp to take part in a contest)
(also intr)to call (something) into question; dispute
to make demands on; stimulatethe job challenges his ingenuity
to order (a person) to halt and be identified or to give a password
lawto make formal objection to (a juror or jury)
to lay claim to (attention, etc)
(intr)hunting(of a hound) to cry out on first encountering the scent of a quarry
to inject (an experimental animal immunized with a test substance) with disease microorganisms to test for immunity to the disease
noun
a call to engage in a fight, argument, or contest
a questioning of a statement or fact; a demand for justification or explanation
a demanding or stimulating situation, career, object, etc
a demand by a sentry, watchman, etc, for identification or a password
USan assertion that a person is not entitled to vote or that a vote is invalid
lawa formal objection to a person selected to serve on a jury (challenge to the polls) or to the whole body of jurors (challenge to the array)
Derived forms of challenge
challengeable, adjectivechallenger, noun
Word Origin for challenge
C13: from Old French chalenge, from Latin calumniacalumny