endanger
Americanverb (used with object)
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endangers,
present (3rd person singular)
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endangered,
past participle, past
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endangering
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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endangersimple
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endangerssimple
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have endangeredperfect
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has endangeredperfect
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am endangeringprogressive
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are endangeringprogressive
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is endangeringprogressive
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have been endangeringperfect progressive
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has been endangeringperfect progressive
Past
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endangeredsimple
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had endangeredperfect
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was endangeringprogressive
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were endangeringprogressive
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had been endangeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of endanger
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at en- 1, danger
Explanation
To endanger someone is to put them in a dangerous position, or to threaten their safety. It would endanger your little brother if you encouraged him to jump off the garage roof into a pile of leaves. Texting while you drive is a good way to endanger yourself, as well as your passengers and anyone else nearby. Scientists warn that climate change will slowly begin to endanger many plant and animal species on Earth, possibly including humans. This 15th century word combines the prefix en-, "make or put in" with danger, from the Old French dangier, "power to harm."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Those who escalate chaos and endanger officers will be held accountable. Today’s sentence reflects our commitment to protecting the men and women sworn to keep our communities safe.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
A blocked street can delay an ambulance or endanger someone whose emergency has nothing to do with immigration enforcement.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Conventional logic would suggest that Iran should avoid actions that could endanger diplomacy.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
The safety concern is that, during an outage, this auxiliary electricity source could endanger electricians or utility workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
“We ask you to do nothing to endanger yourself. I would not tell you the circumstances that brought us here, but without knowing them you cannot realize how desperately we need your help.”
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Although it endangers his secret Traitor identity, he tries to protect Funches.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
The judge emphasized that Dobbs focused on a right to elective abortion, while Seyb’s case “tests how far Idaho may go when a woman’s pregnancy severely endangers her health.”
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Pope Leo XIV may be right in the long-term that artificial intelligence endangers humanity, but investors are ignoring him in the short-term as they try cashing in on Wall Street’s hottest theme.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
None of this endangers the mathematical theory of relativity or the empirical science that confirms it.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
I will attempt to eat at the table, or read the newspaper there, but it’s so small and rickety that any wrong movement endangers the house.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
His principal legislative interest has been to delist the gray wolf as a federal endangered species.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
"We focus our efforts on the species that are the most endangered, that really need out support," Biddle said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The Hemi V-8 began to look like an endangered species.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The park, a one-hour bush-plane flight from Anchorage, is known for its abundance of brown bears, horned puffins and critically endangered beluga whales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
They, also, endangered their lives to save mine.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
A jury in New Mexico previously ordered Meta to pay $375 million after it found the company liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms, among other harms.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Sudanese national Chan Mathok Atak, 19, is accused of endangering another during a journey by sea to the UK on Thursday and is due to appear at Margate Magistrates' Court on Monday.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Getting such a charter would give huge latitude to crypto banks, endangering unsophisticated investors, critics say.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Myanmar-born activist, was detained on suspicion of espionage and endangering national security.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Their point was that a human being in a gamma field was endangering his life and that it didn’t matter that he could remain there half an hour safely.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
