hazard

noun haz·ard \ ˈha-zərd \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: hazard in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of hazard

1 : a game of chance like craps played with two dice

2 : a source of danger

hazards on the roadway

3 a : 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 Dickens

b : 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

See hazard defined for English-language learners

See hazard defined for kids

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

Explain that the excessive use of water creates a safety hazard.

— New York Times, "How Much Water Does It Really Take to Wash a Sidewalk?," 7 July 2018
Frozen tuberculosis spilled Thursday within the Johns Hopkins Cancer Research Building, creating a potential hazard after a latch failed on a transport container, an official with the medical institution said Friday.

— andrea k. mcdaniels, baltimoresun.com, "Tuberculosis spilled at Hopkins because latch failed," 7 July 2018
The Lake Worth Drainage District, which manages 500 miles of canals across the county, is removing anything that poses a potential hazard during a storm.

— marci shatzman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Some stunned to see exposed backyards as canal banks are cleared for storm season," 2 July 2018
Electronic waste creates huge environmental hazards.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Thailand takes first step toward total ban of e-waste," 21 June 2018
Neighbors said the original plan for an ice-skating rink would create traffic hazards on Penn Street, a one-way residential street.

— valerie russ, Philly.com, "Decision on Boys and Girls Club in Germantown delayed," 8 June 2018
In a complaint filed Wednesday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, CEI argues that the construction work is creating hazards that could endanger the health and safety of its workers and people in the area.

— robert higgs, cleveland.com, "CEI asks court to halt Cleveland Public Power efforts to connect with solar field," 10 May 2018
An electrical fire caused about $100,000 damage to a home on the east side of North Aurora Sunday evening, and created an unusual hazard for firefighters when a power line fell to the ground.

— linda girardi, Aurora Beacon-News, "Fire leaves North Aurora house uninhabitable," 30 Apr. 2018
Bird is not quickly relocating scooters that its customers have left creating these hazards.

— cyrus farivar, Ars Technica, "San Francisco to scooter startups: Your customers are terrible," 18 Apr. 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

hazard Synonyms

Synonyms

accident, chance, circumstance, luck;

Near Antonyms

intent, intention, purpose;

design, outline, plan, scheme;

fluke, happenchance, happenstance;

destiny, doom, fate, fortune, lot;

danger, peril, risk;

hazard

verb

Definition of hazard

hazarded; hazarding; hazards

transitive verb

: to offer or present at a risk : venture

hazard a guess as to the outcome

See hazard defined for English-language learners

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

In those 30 days, Hurley and Adams spoke and texted countless times, too many for either to hazard a guess.

— dom amore, courant.com, "UConn Men: Dan Hurley's Brutal Honesty, Tough Love, Resonates With Jalen Adams," 20 June 2018
The greatest ongoing hazard stems from the lava flows and the hot, toxic gases spewing from open fissure vents close to homes and critical infrastructure, said Charles Mandeville of the U.S. Geological Survey's volcano hazards program.

— CBS News, "Hawaii lava flow ramps up as new magma mixes with old," 20 May 2018
Researchers have hazarded several theories for what happened in Havana.

— josh chin, WSJ, "U.S. Evacuates Workers From China After Complaints of Mystery Illness," 7 June 2018
The greatest ongoing hazard stems from the lava flows and the hot, toxic gases spewing from open fissure vents close to homes and critical infrastructure, said Charles Mandeville of the U.S. Geological Survey's volcano hazards program.

— CBS News, "Hawaii lava flow ramps up as new magma mixes with old," 20 May 2018
The greatest ongoing hazard stems from the lava flows and the hot, toxic gases spewing from open fissure vents close to homes and critical infrastructure, said Charles Mandeville of the U.S. Geological Survey's volcano hazards program.

— Fox News, "Hawaii officials warn residents about latest lava flow," 19 May 2018
Benson is accused of negligent homicide, dereliction of duty and hazarding a vessel, and recently waived his right to an Article 32 hearing, a public airing of the facts that had been scheduled for May 21 at the Washington Navy Yard.

— dan lamothe, Washington Post, "Navy ‘callous’ in how it describes deadly USS Fitzgerald collision, attorneys allege," 16 May 2018
The greatest ongoing hazard stems from the lava flows and the hot, toxic gases spewing from open fissure vents close to homes and critical infrastructure, said Charles Mandeville of the U.S. Geological Survey's volcano hazards program.

— CBS News, "Hawaii lava flow ramps up as new magma mixes with old," 20 May 2018
The greatest ongoing hazard stems from the lava flows and the hot, toxic gases spewing from open fissure vents close to homes and critical infrastructure, said Charles Mandeville of the U.S. Geological Survey's volcano hazards program.

— Fox News, "Hawaii officials warn residents about latest lava flow," 19 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of hazard

see ¹hazard

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1601

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

hazard Synonyms

Synonyms

adventure, chance, gamble (on), risk, tempt, venture;

compromise, endanger, imperil, jeopardize, menace;

expose, subject;

bet (on), wager;

Phrases

run the risk of;

HAZARD Defined for English Language Learners

hazard

noun

Definition of hazard for English Language Learners

: a source of danger
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

verb

Definition of hazard for English Language Learners

: to risk losing (something, such as money) in an attempt to get, win, or achieve something
: to offer (something, such as a guess or an opinion) even though you may be wrong

HAZARD Defined for Kids

hazard

noun haz·ard \ ˈha-zərd \

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”).