Definition of "challenge"

challenge

/ˈt͡ʃæl.ɪnd͡ʒ/

noun
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.
    Quotations
    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?
    2013 November 30, Paul Davis, “Letters: Say it as simply as possible”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8864
  2. A bid to overcome something.
    Quotations
    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.
    2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport
  3. (sports) An attempt to take possession; a tackle.
    Quotations
    Argentine midfielder Jonas Gutierrez added a superb second when he surged past four challenges to fire in low.
    2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport
  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.
    Quotations
    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.
    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
  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).
  3. The act of seeking to remove a judge, arbitrator, or other judicial or semi-judicial figure for reasons of alleged bias or incapacity.
  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.
verb
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.
  Quotations
  By this I challenge him to single fight.
  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, [Act IV, scene iv]
2. (transitive) To dare (someone).
  Quotations
  [...] 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.
  1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Who Heir?”, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], book I, paragraph 149, page 194
3. (transitive) To dispute (something).
  Quotations
  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.
  2022 August 10, Dr Mike Esbester, “New understandings from old incidents”, in RAIL, number 963, page 58
4. To call something into question or dispute.
5. (law, transitive) To make a formal objection to a juror.
6. (transitive) To be difficult or challenging for.
  Quotations
  Before moving onto the content of Hobson-Jobson, an explication of the publication history is necessary since this has clearly challenged many commentators.
  2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, page 487
7. (obsolete, transitive) To claim as due; to demand as a right.
  Quotations
  Challenge better terms.
  1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, Act I, scene i, page 3
8. (obsolete, transitive) To censure; to blame.
  Quotations
  I may be more challenged for my inconsiderate Boldness
  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
9. (military, transitive) To question or demand the countersign from (one who attempts to pass the lines).
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.
  Quotations
  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?
  1996, Senate Legislative Record ... Legislature State of Maine‎
  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.”
  1997, Carol Gino, The Nurse's Story‎
  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.
  2006, Diana Huggins, Exam/cram 70-291: Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure‎, page 2

Definition of "challenge"

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noun

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