challenge

Etymology

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.

noun

1. A confrontation; a dare.
   1. An antagonization or instigation intended to convince a person to perform an action they otherwise would not.
      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? 2013-11-30, Paul Davis, “Letters: Say it as simply as possible”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8864
   2. A bid to overcome something.
      a challenge to the king's authority
      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. May 5, 2012, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport
   3. (sports) An attempt to take possession; a tackle.
      Argentine midfielder Jonas Gutierrez added a superb second when he surged past four challenges to fire in low. October 1, 2011, 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.
      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. 10 March 2021, Drachinifel, 27:16 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-11-07
   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.

verb

1. (transitive) To invite (someone) to take part in a competition.
   We challenged the boys next door to a game of football.
2. (transitive) To dare (someone).
3. (transitive) To dispute (something).
   to challenge the accuracy of a statement or of a quotation
   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. August 10 2022, Dr Mike Esbester, “New understandings from old incidents”, in RAIL, number 963, page 58
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.
   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, →DOI, page 487
7. (obsolete, transitive) To claim as due; to demand as a right.
8. (obsolete, transitive) To censure; to blame.
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.
    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