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Definition of hazard
1 : a game of chance like craps played with two dice
2 : a source of danger hazards on the roadway
3a : the effect of unpredictable and unanalyzable forces in determining events : chance, risk the hazards involved in owning your own business men and women danced together, women danced together, men danced together, as hazard had brought them together — Charles Dickensb : a chance event : accident looked like a fugitive, who had escaped from something in clothes caught up at hazard — Willa Cather
4 obsolete : stake 3a
5 : a golf-course obstacle (such as a bunker or a pond)
at hazard
: at stake
From the M-W Editors
Examples of hazard in a Sentence
the tumbledown old barn was considered a fire hazard
it was only by hazard and good fortune that we found our way back to the trail
Recent Examples of hazard from the Web
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Once Kamariya started walking, the staircase could be a hazard.
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Congress also held hearings about the impact hazard of near earth objects.
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As the Internet continues to dominate the lives of everyday Americans, both legislators and law enforcement officials have been forced to grapple with the hazards of digital life.
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To perform the experiment, scientists need a supply of tritium—a highly radioactive isotope of hydrogen produced in certain nuclear reactors that's tightly regulated because of its potential health hazards and weapons applications.
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Despite the hazards that space junk poses, space debris is not collected today, in part because technologies used to grab on to items on Earth often do not perform well in space, the researchers said in their study.
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Usually the pavement rose three to six inches at the point where the break occurred, creating a hump and a hazard to traffic.
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Heat-not-burn devices are designed to do just that, and like e-cigarettes, without producing the smoke and tar commonly associated with the hazards of conventional cigarettes.
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The blast appears likely to provoke public anger and worry about safety around schools, including dangerous chemicals, fire hazards and explosive materials.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hazard'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
At first hazard was a game of chance played with dice. The English word comes from medieval French, in which the game was called hasard. This French word was probably borrowed from Arabic az-zahr, meaning “the dice” or “one of the dice.” The game was borrowed from the French by the English, and within a few centuries what had been a chance taken on the outcome of a throw of the dice could be any venture or risk. Now “chance” or “venture” and “risk” or “peril” are the usual meanings of hazard. The verb hazard emerged in the 16th century.
Origin and Etymology of hazard
Middle English, from Anglo-French hasard, from Old Spanish azar, from Arabic al-zahr the die
hazard
Definition of hazard
transitive verb
: to offer or present at a risk : venture hazard a guess as to the outcome
Examples of hazard in a Sentence
His friend asked him to hazard a small sum in a business venture.
just so the tourists could see the sea lions up close, the captain needlessly hazarded his ship
Recent Examples of hazard from the Web
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But will pitchers overexert themselves to keep their fastballs at 95 when a lower height drops their fastball to 92? Don’t hazard a guess, Fleisig says.
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Nor were Boeing, Raytheon, or Lockheed Martin even willing to hazard a guess as to the number of jobs Trump’s Riyadh proposals might actually create, when asked by The Washington Post.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hazard'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of hazard
see 1hazard
HAZARD Defined for English Language Learners
hazard
playDefinition of hazard for English Language Learners
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: a source of danger
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golf : something on a golf course (such as a pond or an area of sand) that makes hitting the ball into the hole more difficult
hazard
Definition of hazard for English Language Learners
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: to risk losing (something, such as money) in an attempt to get, win, or achieve something
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: to offer (something, such as a guess or an opinion) even though you may be wrong
HAZARD Defined for Kids
Definition of hazard for Students
: a source of danger a fire hazard
History for hazard
English hazard was originally the name of a game of chance played with dice. The English word was taken from a medieval French word hasard, which in turn came by way of Spanish from an Arabic phrase az zahr, “the die” (that is, “one of the dice”).
Definition of hazard for Students
hazarded
;hazarding
: to offer something (such as a guess or an opinion) at the risk of being wrong
Law Dictionary
hazard
playLegal Definition of hazard
: a condition that tends to create or increase the possibility of loss —used especially in insurance law
Learn More about hazard
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See words that rhyme with hazard Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hazard Spanish Central: Translation of hazard Nglish: Translation of hazard for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hazard for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hazard
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