challenge

From Middle English chalenge, variant with palatalization of Middle English kalange (“an accusation, claim”), from Old French chalenge, chalonge, palatalized Central French variants of Old Northern French calenge, calonge (see Continental Norman calengier), from Latin calumnia (“a false accusation, calumny”), from Proto-Indo-European *kēl-, *ḱēl- (“invocation; to beguile, feign, charm, cajole, deceive”). Cognate with Old English hōl (“calumny”). Doublet of calumny.

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃæl.ɪnd͡ʒ/, /ˈt͡ʃæl.ənd͡ʒ/

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challenge (plural challenges)

1. A confrontation; a dare.
   1. An antagonization or instigation intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not.
      • 2013 November 30, Paul Davis, “Letters: Say it as simply as possible”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8864:

        Congratulations on managing to use the phrase “preponderant criterion” in a chart (“On your marks”, November 9th). Was this the work of a kakorrhaphiophobic journalist set a challenge by his colleagues, or simply an example of glossolalia?

   2. A bid to overcome something.

      a challenge to the king's authority

      • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:

        For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.

   3. (sports) An attempt to take possession; a tackle.
      • 2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:

        Argentine midfielder Jonas Gutierrez added a superb second when he surged past four challenges to fire in low.

   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.
      • 2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 27:16 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN)‎, archived from the original on 7 November 2022:

        The somewhat-shattered San Francisco also managed to make it out, although not before she'd come within seconds of being blown out of the water by Helena, as the two had lost contact in the dark and the flagship had loomed back out of the murk with no one and nothing available to answer the light cruiser's challenge - the radio, the whistle, the signal lights, the flags, et cetera, had all been destroyed. Luckily, one of the few surviving signalmen found a small handheld signal light and managed to blink out the ship's hull number.

   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. (law) A procedure or action.
   1. The act of appealing a ruling or decision of a court of administrative agency.
   2. (law, rare) A judge's interest in the result of a case, constituting grounds for them to 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.

   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 act of seeking to have a certain person be declared not legally qualified to vote, made when the person offers their ballot.
4. (hunting) The opening and crying of hounds upon first finding the scent of their game.

• → French: challenge (orthographic)
• → Japanese: チャレンジ (charenji)
• → Russian: че́ллендж (čéllendž)

challenge (third-person singular simple present challenges, present participle challenging, simple 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 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:

     By this I challenge him to single fight.

2. (transitive) To dare (someone).
   • 1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Who Heir?”, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC, 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

   • 2022 August 10, Dr Mike Esbester, “New understandings from old incidents”, in RAIL, number 963, page 58:

     In the April 2020 Roade fatality, the worker who died "was reputedly in the habit of walking on the line when he didn't need to". Tragically, no one challenged him about it.

4. To call something into question or dispute.

   New information challenged old hypotheses.

5. (law, transitive) To make a formal objection to a juror.
6. (transitive) To be difficult or challenging for.
   • 2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 487:

     Before moving onto the content of Hobson-Jobson, an explication of the publication history is necessary since this has clearly challenged many commentators.

7. (obsolete, transitive) To claim as due; to demand as a right.
   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 3:

     Challenge better terms.

8. (obsolete, transitive) To censure; to blame.
   • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, →OCLC:

     I may be more challenged for my inconsiderate Boldness

9. (military, transitive) To question or demand the countersign from (one who attempts to pass the lines).

   The sentinel challenged us with "Who goes there?"

10. (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.
11. (Canada, US, transitive) To take (a final exam) in order to get credit for a course without taking it.
    • 1996, Senate Legislative Record ... Legislature State of Maine‎:

      I mean if you go in and want to challenge an exam it cost you half of your course money. If you don't pass the exam, that money is credited toward taking the course. What have you got to lose to challenge an exam, or do a competency exam?

    • 1997, Carol Gino, The Nurse's Story‎:

      The only time I went to class was to challenge an exam. My marks were good. But there was one class I never missed, “Nursing Process and the New Philosophy in Nursing.”

    • 2006, Diana Huggins, Exam/cram 70-291: Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure‎, page 2:

      Although we strongly recommend that you keep practicing until your scores top the 75% mark, 80% would be a good goal, to give yourself some margin for error in a real exam situation[…]. After you hit that point, you should be ready to challenge the exam.

• becall, call out

English challenge, from Old French chalonge, from Latin calumnia. Doublet of calomnie.

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.lɑ̃ʒ/
• IPA^(key): /tʃa.lɛndʒ/

• Audio

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challenge m (plural challenges)

1. challenge

• “challenge”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Unadapted borrowing from English challenge.

• IPA^(key): /tʃe.ɫɯndʒ/

challenge (definite accusative challengeı, plural challengelar)

1. challenge

   Synonym: mücadele