dare

/dɛə/

//dɛə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dare" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dare” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,222 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#4,222
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To have enough courage (to do something).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dare vs Dr
25% similar
dare vs de
50% similar
dare vs day
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dare
PropertyValue
Headworddare
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/dɛə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,222
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dare” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). dare lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for dare is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɛə/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,222 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for dare, with forms such as "adre", "darre", and "ddare". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Dr", "de", "day", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English durren, from Old English durran, from Proto-West Germanic *durʀan, from Proto-Germanic *durzaną (“to dare”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰedʰórse (“to dare”), reduplicated stative of the root *dʰers- (“to be bold, to dare”), an *-s- exten… The correct English form is dare, spelled D-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To have enough courage (to do something).
  2. 2
    To defy or challenge (someone to do something).
  3. 3
    To have enough courage to meet or do something, go somewhere, etc.; to face up to.
  4. 4
    To terrify; to daunt.
  5. 5
    To drive larks to the ground by scaring them (for instance, with mirrors or hawks) so they can be caught in nets.

Etymology

From Middle English durren, from Old English durran, from Proto-West Germanic *durʀan, from Proto-Germanic *durzaną (“to dare”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰedʰórse (“to dare”), reduplicated stative of the root *dʰers- (“to be bold, to dare”), an *-s- extension of *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). Cognates Cognate with Low German dören, Dutch durven, German turren, Sanskrit दधर्ष (dadhárṣa), but also with Ancient Greek θρασύς (thrasús), Albanian nder, Lithuanian drįsti, Russian дерза́ть (derzátʹ).

This word in other languages

osar(Español)oser(Français)wagen(Deutsch)ousar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: adre,darre,ddare,drae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dare - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

adre2darre1ddare1drae2
Edit distance from "dare"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dare"?
"dare" is spelled D-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɛə/.
What does "dare" mean?
As a verb, "dare" means: To have enough courage (to do something).
What words are commonly confused with "dare"?
"dare" is commonly confused with "Dr", "de", "day". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dare"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dare" is /dɛə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dare"?
From Middle English durren, from Old English durran, from Proto-West Germanic *durʀan, from Proto-Germanic *durzaną (“to dare”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰedʰórse (“to dare”), reduplicated stative of the root *dʰers- (“to be bold, to dare”), an ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “dare”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-A-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /dɛə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Dr” - see the side-by-side comparison. dare vs Dr
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list