Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Challenge

Chal′lenge

,
Noun.
[OE.
chalenge
claim, accusation, challenge, OF.
chalenge
,
chalonge
, claim, accusation, contest, fr. L.
calumnia
false accusation, chicanery. See
Calumny
.]
1.
An invitation to engage in a contest or controversy of any kind; a defiance; specifically, a summons to fight a duel; also, the letter or message conveying the summons.
A
challenge
to controversy.
Goldsmith.
2.
The act of a sentry in halting any one who appears at his post, and demanding the countersign.
3.
A claim or demand.
[Obs.]
There must be no
challenge
of superiority.
Collier.
4.
(Hunting)
The opening and crying of hounds at first finding the scent of their game.
5.
(Law)
An exception to a juror or to a member of a court martial, coupled with a demand that he should be held incompetent to act; the claim of a party that a certain person or persons shall not sit in trial upon him or his cause.
Blackstone
6.
An exception to a person as not legally qualified to vote. The challenge must be made when the ballot is offered.
[U. S.]
Challenge to the array
(Law)
,
an exception to the whole panel.
–
Challenge to the favor
,
the alleging a special cause, the sufficiency of which is to be left to those whose duty and office it is to decide upon it.
–
Challenge to the polls
,
an exception taken to any one or more of the individual jurors returned.
–
Peremptory challenge
,
a privilege sometimes allowed to defendants, of challenging a certain number of jurors (fixed by statute in different States) without assigning any cause.
–
Principal challenge
,
that which the law allows to be sufficient if found to be true.

Chal′lenge

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Challenged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Challenging
.]
[OE.
chalengen
to accuse, claim, OF.
chalengier
,
chalongier
, to claim, accuse, dispute, fr. L.
calumniar
to attack with false accusations. See
Challenge
,
Noun.
, and cf.
Calumniate
.]
1.
To call to a contest of any kind; to call to answer; to defy.
I
challenge
any man to make any pretense to power by right of fatherhood.
Locke.
2.
To call, invite, or summon to answer for an offense by personal combat.
By this I
challenge
him to single fight.
Shakespeare
3.
To claim as due; to demand as a right.
Challenge
better terms.
Addison.
4.
To censure; to blame.
[Obs.]
He complained of the emperors . . . and
challenged
them for that he had no greater revenues . . . from them.
Holland.
5.
(Mil.)
To question or demand the countersign from (one who attempts to pass the lines);
as, the sentinel
challenged
us, with “Who comes there?”
6.
To take exception to; question;
as, to
challenge
the accuracy of a statement or of a quotation
.
7.
(Law)
To object to or take exception to, as to a juror, or member of a court.
8.
To object to the reception of the vote of, as on the ground that the person in not qualified as a voter.
[U. S.]
To challenge to the
array, favor, polls
.
See under
Challenge
,
Noun.

Chal′lenge

,
Verb.
I.
To assert a right; to claim a place.
Where nature doth with merit
challenge
.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Challenge

CHALLENGE

,
Noun.
Literally, a calling, or crying out, the primary sense of many words expressing a demand, as claim. Hence appropriately,
1.
A calling upon one to fight in single combat; an invitation or summons, verbal or written, to decide a controversy by a duel. Hence the letter containing the summons is also called a challenge.
2.
A claim or demand made of a right or supposed right.
There must be no challenge of superiority.
3.
Among hunters, the opening and crying of hounds at the first finding the scent of their game.
4.
In law, an exception to jurors; the claim of a party that certain jurors shall not sit in trial upon him or his cause; that is, a calling them off. The right of challenge is given both in civil and criminal trials, for certain causes which are supposed to disqualify a juror to be an impartial judge. The right of challenge extends either to the whole panel or array, or only to particular jurors, called a challenge to the polls. A principal challenge is that which the law allows without cause assigned. A challenge to the favor, is when the party alleges a special cause. In criminal cases, a prisoner may challenge twenty jurors, without assigning a cause. This is called a peremptory challenge.

CHALLENGE

, VT
1.
To call, invite or summon to answer for an offense by single combat, or duel.
2.
To call to a contest; to invite to a trial; as, I challenge a man to prove what he asserts, implying defiance.
3.
To accuse; to call to answer.
4.
To claim as due; to demand as a right; as, the Supreme Being challenges our reverence and homage.
5.
In law, to call off a juror, or jurors; or to demand that jurors shall not sit in trial upon a cause. [See the noun.]
6.
To call to the performance of conditions.

Definition 2024

challenge

challenge

See also: challengé

English

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.
      • 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.
    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. (law, 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.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

challenge ‎(third-person singular simple present challenges, present participle challenging, simple past and past participle challenged)

  1. To invite someone to take part in a competition.
    We challenged the boys next door to a game of football.‎
  2. To dare someone.
    • John Locke (1632-1705)
      I challenge any man to make any pretence to power by right of fatherhood.
  3. To dispute something.
    to challenge the accuracy of a statement or of a quotation‎
  4. (law) To make a formal objection to a juror.
  5. (obsolete) To claim as due; to demand as a right.
  6. (obsolete) To censure; to blame.
    • Holland
      He complained of the emperor […] and challenged them for that he had no greater revenues […] from them.
  7. (military) To question or demand the countersign from (one who attempts to pass the lines).
    The sentinel challenged us with "Who goes there?"‎
  8. (US) 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) 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.

Synonyms

Translations

Related terms

French

Etymology

Borrowing from English challenge, originally from Old French.

Noun

challenge m ‎(plural challenges)

  1. challenge

Etymology

From Middle English chalenge, assilibated variant of Middle English calenge, calange ‎(“an accusation, claim”), from Old French chalenge, chalonge, assibilated forms of Old French calenge, calonge, 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”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtʃæl.ɪndʒ/, /ˈtʃæl.əndʒ/

Similar Results