stare

/stɛɚ/

//stɛɚ// verb

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

"stare" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stare” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,211 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#8,211
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To look fixedly (at something).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

stare vs STR
0% similar
stare vs sure
60% similar
stare vs stay
60% similar

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

Key facts for stare
PropertyValue
Headwordstare
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/stɛɚ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,211
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stare” 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). stare 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 stare is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /stɛɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,211 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for stare, with forms such as "satre", "sstare", and "staer". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "STR", "sure", "stay", 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 staren, from Old English starian (“to stare”), from Proto-West Germanic *starēn, from Proto-Germanic *starjaną, *starāną (“to be fixed, be rigid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster-. Cognate with Dutch staren (“to stare”), German starren (… The correct English form is stare, spelled S-T-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To look fixedly (at something).
  2. 2
    To influence in some way by looking fixedly.
  3. 3
    To be very conspicuous on account of size, prominence, colour, or brilliancy.
  4. 4
    To stand out; to project; to bristle.

Etymology

From Middle English staren, from Old English starian (“to stare”), from Proto-West Germanic *starēn, from Proto-Germanic *starjaną, *starāną (“to be fixed, be rigid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster-. Cognate with Dutch staren (“to stare”), German starren (“to stare”), German starr (“stiff”). More at start.

Synonyms

gawgloarglomstare

This word in other languages

vichar(Español)fixer(Français)starren(Deutsch)fitar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: satre,sstare,staer,starre,strae,sttare,tsare

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stare - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

satre2sstare1staer2starre1strae2sttare1tsare2
Edit distance from "stare"

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 "stare"?
"stare" is spelled S-T-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /stɛɚ/.
What does "stare" mean?
As a verb, "stare" means: To look fixedly (at something).
What words are commonly confused with "stare"?
"stare" is commonly confused with "STR", "sure", "stay". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stare"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stare" is /stɛɚ/. 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 "stare"?
From Middle English staren, from Old English starian (“to stare”), from Proto-West Germanic *starēn, from Proto-Germanic *starjaną, *starāną (“to be fixed, be rigid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ster-. Cognate with Dutch staren (“to stare”), German... 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 “stare”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-T-A-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /stɛɚ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “STR” - see the side-by-side comparison. stare vs STR
  • 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