1
: exposure or liability to injury, pain, harm, or loss
a place where children could play without danger
was assured her job was not in danger
2
: a case or cause of danger
the dangers of mining
3
a
archaic
: jurisdiction
You stand within his danger, do you not?—
Shakespeare
Shakespeare
Synonyms
Examples of danger in a Sentence
Noun
I was unaware of the danger that lay ahead.
She was fearless in the face of danger.
The sign on the door read “Danger. Keep out.”
There's less danger that you'll lose your money if you have a wide variety of investments.
There's a danger that your apology will be taken as a sign of weakness.
The danger is that we'll become careless as the process becomes more familiar.
It's important to teach your children about the dangers of smoking.
Here is a list of possible dangers associated with the procedure.
We believe it poses a serious danger to our national security.
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Recent Examples on the WebScott MacFarlane, CBS News, 26 Nov. 2023
That enemy may not be real, but the danger of those lies is.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2023
The arguments here have to do with how history repeats itself and the dangers of making homes into tradable commodities.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023
This is a departure from the standard time-travel nostrum that any change to the past runs the danger of making things immeasurably worse in the future.
—Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023
But it’s also obscured the dangers of centralizing power and subjecting it to leaders’ personal whims.
—Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2023
With that much friction, there’s probably no current danger to ATK’s YouTube strategy.
—Allison Johnson, The Verge, 22 Nov. 2023
But there was the realization that there were people finding the content to be believable and potentially putting themselves in imminent harm or danger as a result.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
That encompassed the dangers too, says Messerschmidt, noting that racers of that era had no seatbelts – not because Ferrari hadn’t thought of driver safety but because getting thrown from a car was the driver’s best chance at surviving a crash.
—Will Tizard, Variety, 20 Nov. 2023
Kerry Breen, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2023
Trackside devices known as hot bearing detectors are designed to scan a passing train and alert crews to danger.
—Luz Lazo and Ian Duncan, BostonGlobe.com, 23 June 2023
Up to that point, being close enough to danger to report on it with accuracy had become a way of life.
—Mark Guarino, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2023
Our heads are great with facts and logic, our hearts speak our desires, and our gut senses danger.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 5 May 2023
On or off the clock, the first responders of 9-1-1 are no strangers to danger.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 17 Mar. 2023
What starts as an innocuous activity often spirals into disruption and sometimes danger as new groups of people continually trying to outdo prior participants.
—Adario Strange, Quartz, 5 July 2022
Some scientists say such behavior is not always playfulness and can instead be an attempt to alert others to danger.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2021
Most warning systems use audible cues to alert people to danger.
—Madalyn Amato, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2021
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Noun
The letter included the latest, and perhaps the most visceral, in a recent wave of warnings issued in courtrooms about the dangers lurking in the 2024 presidential election cycle.
—Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 26 Nov. 2023
That enemy may not be real, but the danger of those lies is.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2023
The arguments here have to do with how history repeats itself and the dangers of making homes into tradable commodities.
—Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023
This is a departure from the standard time-travel nostrum that any change to the past runs the danger of making things immeasurably worse in the future.
—Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023
But it’s also obscured the dangers of centralizing power and subjecting it to leaders’ personal whims.
—Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2023
With that much friction, there’s probably no current danger to ATK’s YouTube strategy.
—Allison Johnson, The Verge, 22 Nov. 2023
But there was the realization that there were people finding the content to be believable and potentially putting themselves in imminent harm or danger as a result.
—Lauren Goode, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
That encompassed the dangers too, says Messerschmidt, noting that racers of that era had no seatbelts – not because Ferrari hadn’t thought of driver safety but because getting thrown from a car was the driver’s best chance at surviving a crash.
—Will Tizard, Variety, 20 Nov. 2023
Verb
Thankfully, her mother survived, but Cardenas-Haro questioned the decision not to activate sirens that might have alerted people to danger earlier.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2023
Trackside devices known as hot bearing detectors are designed to scan a passing train and alert crews to danger.
—Luz Lazo and Ian Duncan, BostonGlobe.com, 23 June 2023
Up to that point, being close enough to danger to report on it with accuracy had become a way of life.
—Mark Guarino, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2023
Our heads are great with facts and logic, our hearts speak our desires, and our gut senses danger.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 5 May 2023
On or off the clock, the first responders of 9-1-1 are no strangers to danger.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 17 Mar. 2023
What starts as an innocuous activity often spirals into disruption and sometimes danger as new groups of people continually trying to outdo prior participants.
—Adario Strange, Quartz, 5 July 2022
Some scientists say such behavior is not always playfulness and can instead be an attempt to alert others to danger.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2021
Most warning systems use audible cues to alert people to danger.
—Madalyn Amato, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'danger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English daunger, from Anglo-French dangier, dongier, from Vulgar Latin *dominiarium, from Latin dominium ownership
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of danger was
in the 13th century
Phrases Containing danger
Dictionary Entries Near danger
Cite this Entry
“Danger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/danger. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
danger
noun
dan·ger
ˈdān-jər
1
: the state of not being protected from injury, harm, or evil
2
: something that may cause injury or harm
the dangers of the jungle
More from Merriam-Webster on danger
Nglish: Translation of danger for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of danger for Arabic Speakers
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