Challenge

How to spell challenge

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce challenge

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does challenge mean?

1. nounA demanding task or situation that tests someone's ability, or a call to compete or prove something.
2. verbTo dispute the truth or correctness of something, or to invite someone to compete or justify themselves.

Challenge in a sentence

• noun

  Learning a new accounting system was a real challenge for the whole team.

• verb

  The lawyer planned to challenge the witness on every detail of the statement.

• noun

  The biggest challenge on the trip was finding affordable accommodation.

• verb

  They decided to challenge the parking fine in writing.

Where does challenge come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travelled into English through Old French, where 'chalenge' or 'challenge' meant a claim, an objection, or an accusation. Behind it lies the Latin 'calumnia', which meant a false accusation, trickery, or slander, formed from the verb 'calvi', meaning 'to deceive'. When English took the word in the 1200s it still carried strongly legal and hostile overtones: to challenge someone was to accuse them or to formally object to them, and the same root survives today in the word 'calumny', meaning malicious slander. Over the centuries the sense softened from accusation to a summons to fight or duel, then to any invitation to compete, and finally to the modern idea of a demanding task that tests one's ability. The doubled 'l' and the unexpected '-enge' ending both come straight from the French spelling, which is why the word looks heavier than it sounds.

How the word is built

• challeng- (from Old French chalenge: a claim, accusation)
• -e