Definition of hazmat
: a material (such as flammable or poisonous material) that would be a danger to life or to the environment if released without precautions
From the M-W Editors
hazmat was our Word of the Day on 01/03/2007. Hear the podcast!
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Recent Examples of hazmat from the Web
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The secretary of state police took the woman into custody, and the fire department sent in its hazmat team to investigate.
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After the five children — whose names and ages have not been released — were rushed to the hospital, a hazmat crew arrived to help expel the excess chemicals from the area.
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The ‘mentally disabled’ hazmat driver Crespo tracked down one of Mendez-Villamil’s patients who was trying to get a disability waiver to avoid taking the US citizenship test.
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After the 9/11 attacks, Cardona worked for a construction company hired in the hazmat cleanup and recovery effort at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.
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The ‘mentally disabled’ hazmat driver Crespo tracked down one of Mendez-Villamil’s patients who was trying to get a disability waiver to avoid taking the US citizenship test.
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Two weeks earlier the same person obtained his commercial license to drive a hazmat truck.
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The Atlanta TV stations led their evening newscasts with helicopter footage of FBI agents and hazmat teams blocking off her street.
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Mike McClain, vice president of news at FOX 5 Atlanta, tweeted a photo of DeKalb authorities in hazmat suits testing the suspicious powder.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hazmat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The origin of "hazmat" is clear enough - it was formed by combining the first three letters of each of two words: "hazardous" and "material." The word hazmat is fairly young, first appearing in print in 1980. Although it is a noun, "hazmat" tends to be used attributively, meaning that it often appears in sentences before another noun as if it were performing the duties of an adjective (as in "hazmat team" and "hazmat worker").
Origin and Etymology of hazmat
hazardous material
Medical Dictionary
hazmat
Medical Definition of hazmat
: a material (as radioactive, flammable, explosive, or poisonous material) that would be a danger to life or to the environment if released without necessary precautions being taken toxic waste hauled away by workers in hazmat suits—Tom Spousta hazmat storage
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