hazard

1 of 2

noun

haz·​ard ˈha-zərd How to pronounce hazard (audio)
plural hazards
1
: a source of danger
hazards on the roadway
2
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
3
hazards plural : special lights on a vehicle that flash on and off and are used to warn other drivers (as when the vehicle is not working properly) : hazard lights
If you do break down or crash, immediately turn on your hazards.Shape
Drivers should also turn off their hazards when signaling to exit the highway.John Cichowski
4
: a golf-course obstacle (such as a bunker or a pond)
5
: a game of chance like craps played with two dice
6
obsolete : stake sense 3a

hazard

2 of 2

verb

hazarded; hazarding; hazards

transitive verb

: to offer or present at a risk : venture
hazard a guess as to the outcome
Phrases
at hazard
: at stake

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.

Examples of hazard in a Sentence

Noun 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 Verb 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 on the Web
Noun
However, Glendale will take complaints related to health and safety hazards. The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2024 The obvious parallel for this sort of tectonic shift is the campaign against tobacco, which began in the United States in the 1960s, with the first appearances of cautionary labels on cigarette packs warning of health hazards, and by 2015 had cut smoking rates by more than half. Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2024 The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says the heads of the Donald Duck and Daisy Duck figures can come off and pose a choking hazard to your children. Sari Hitchins, Parents, 21 Mar. 2024 The lander will then use lidar—light detection and ranging—and optical cameras to guide it through a coarse hazard avoidance phase and, starting at around 100 meters altitude, a hovering, fine hazard avoidance phase to a safe landing spot. IEEE Spectrum, 20 Mar. 2024 The restrictions in place can be modified, but any future development cannot increase potential hazards. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Mar. 2024 Fish bones can be a choking hazard and get stuck in your dog's throat, stomach or intestines, the American Kennel Club reports. Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024 In 2014, a public service advertising client asked him to work on a project about the health hazards of sugary drinks. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 Under a proposal introduced by Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo), the state would be required to identify and assess the hazards of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in menstrual products and make that information available to the public. Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Verb
Rebuilding Gaza may cost $15B just for housing, official says The enormous toll of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza won't be known until well after the war is over, but the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund is willing to hazard a monetary guess: at least $15 billion. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024 Unfortunately, none of the officials present hazarded a launch date. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 23 June 2023 Still, newspapers had hazarded many guesses as to his real identity. Teresa Nowakowski, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023 Goodman would not hazard a guess on the state of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations, which began June 7. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 June 2023 Food inflation is already significant, noted Daniel Sumner, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at UC Davis, and now prices will rise more, though Sumner and other analysts said there were simply too many factors to hazard a guess on how much. Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 May 2023 Want to hazard a guess as to Trump’s lead over DeSantis (routinely second in these surveys)? Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 20 Feb. 2023 Yi also hazards a few variations that are more systematic. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2023 Care to hazard a guess who picked which? Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 10 June 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hazard.' 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, from Anglo-French hasard, from Old Spanish azar, from Arabic al-zahr the die

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5

Verb

circa 1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hazard was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near hazard

Cite this Entry

“Hazard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hazard. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hazard

1 of 2 noun
haz·​ard ˈhaz-ərd How to pronounce hazard (audio)
1
: a game of chance played with two dice
2
3
: a source of danger
4
: an obstacle on a golf course

hazard

2 of 2 verb
: venture entry 1 sense 1, risk
hazard a guess
Etymology

Noun

Middle English hazard "game of chance," from early French hasard (same meaning), from Arabic az-zahr "the die (one of the dice)"

Word Origin
Hazard was at first a game of chance played with dice. The English word comes from an early form of French, in which the game was called hasard. This French word was probably borrowed during the time of the Crusades from Arabic az-zahr, meaning "the die (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.

Legal Definition

hazard

noun
haz·​ard ˈha-zərd How to pronounce hazard (audio)
: a condition that tends to create or increase the possibility of loss
used especially in insurance law

More from Merriam-Webster on hazard

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!