hazard

play

noun haz·ard \ˈha-zərd\

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

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

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

First Known Use: 14th century

hazard

verb haz·ard

Definition of hazard

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

Origin and Etymology of hazard

see ¹hazard

First Known Use: 1530

HAZARD Defined for English Language Learners

hazard

play

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

play

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”).