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hazard

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A source of danger.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

hazerd

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈhæzɚd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune

    “Drinking alcohol is a health hazard.”

  2. The chance of suffering harm; danger, peril, risk of loss.

  3. An obstacle or other feature which causes risk or danger; originally in sports, and now applied more generally.

  4. in driving a vehicle

    An obstacle or other feature that presents a risk or danger that justifies the driver in taking action to avoid it.

  5. A home rule city, the county seat of Perry County, Kentucky, United States.

verb

  1. To expose to chance; to take a risk.

  2. Take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

  3. Put at risk

  4. To risk (something); to venture, incur, or bring on.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune

Used this way, hazard is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“Drinking alcohol is a health hazard.”
Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Moderate
How common
Common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use hazard

  • “Drinking alcohol is a health hazard.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Home

hazard rate

Unknown

fire hazard

Other combinations

moral hazardhealth hazardhazard analysispotential hazardhazard assessmenthazard function

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • peril

    A source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune.

  • adventure

    Chance of danger or loss.

  • chance

    An opportunity or possibility.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • hazard insurancenounCompound term

    Insurance that provides protection against certain risks such as storms or fires.

  • health hazardnounCompound term

    Hazard to the health of those exposed to it.

  • moral hazardnounCompound term

    The lack of any incentive to guard against a risk when you are protected against it (as by insurance).

  • occupational hazardnounCompound term

    Any condition of a job that can result in illness or injury.

  • water hazardnounCompound term

    Hazard provided by ponds of water that the golfer must avoid.

  • contract of hazardnounCompound term

    A sale of a tract of land as a whole without a warranty as to the acreage.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: source of danger

adventureArchaicjeopardyperil

verb

Sense: to expose to chance

take chancesgambleadventure

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.