hazard

American  

[haz-erd] / ˈhæz ərd /

noun

hazards plural

1. an unavoidable danger or risk, even though often foreseeable.

   The job was full of hazards.

   Antonyms:

   safety

2. something causing unavoidable danger, peril, risk, or difficulty.

   The many hazards of the big city did nothing to convince her to leave.

3. the absence or lack of predictability; chance; uncertainty.

   There is an element of hazard in the execution of the most painstaking plans.

   Synonyms:

   fortuitousness, fortuity, accident

4. Golf. a bunker, sand trap, or the like, constituting an obstacle.

5. the uncertainty of the result in throwing a die.

6. a game played with two dice, an earlier and more complicated form of craps.

7. Court Tennis. any of the winning openings.

8. (in English billiards) a stroke by which the player pockets the object ball winning hazard or their own ball after contact with another ball losing hazard.

---

verb (used with object)

hazards, present (3rd person singular) hazarded, past participle, past hazarding present participle

1. to offer (a statement, conjecture, etc.) with the possibility of facing criticism, disapproval, failure, or the like; venture.

   He hazarded a guess, with trepidation, as to her motives in writing the article.

2. to put to the risk of being lost; expose to risk.

   In making the investment, he hazarded all his savings.

   Synonyms:

   imperil, peril, endanger, stake

3. to take or run the risk of (a misfortune, penalty, etc.).

   Thieves hazard arrest.

4. to venture upon (anything of doubtful issue).

   to hazard a dangerous encounter.

idioms

1. at hazard, at risk; at stake; subject to chance.

   His reputation was at hazard in his new ventures.

hazard British  

/ ˈhæzəd /

noun

1. exposure or vulnerability to injury, loss, evil, etc

2. at risk; in danger

3. a thing likely to cause injury, etc

4. golf an obstacle such as a bunker, a road, rough, water, etc

5. chance; accident (esp in the phrase by hazard )

6. a gambling game played with two dice

7. real tennis

   1. the receiver's side of the court

   2. one of the winning openings

8. billiards a scoring stroke made either when a ball other than the striker's is pocketed ( winning hazard ) or the striker's cue ball itself ( losing hazard )

---

verb

1. to chance or risk

2. to venture (an opinion, guess, etc)

3. to expose to danger

Synonym Usage

See danger.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hazarder
  noun
• hazard-free
  adjective
• hazardable
  adjective
• hazardless
  adjective
• prehazard
  adjective
• unhazarded
  adjective
• unhazarding
  adjective
• well-hazarded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hazards
  plural

Participles

• hazarding
  present
• hazarded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hazard
  simple
• hazards
  simple
• have hazarded
  perfect
• has hazarded
  perfect
• am hazarding
  progressive
• are hazarding
  progressive
• is hazarding
  progressive
• have been hazarding
  perfect progressive
• has been hazarding
  perfect progressive

Past

• hazarded
  simple
• had hazarded
  perfect
• was hazarding
  progressive
• were hazarding
  progressive
• had been hazarding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hazard
  simple
• will have hazarded
  perfect
• will be hazarding
  progressive
• will have been hazarding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hazard

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English hasard from Old French, perhaps from Arabic al-zahr “the die”

Explanation

If something is a hazard, it is a potential source of danger. Balloons are fun, but they're a hazard for little kids who might put them in their mouths. If you play miniature golf, you have to watch for hazards on the course — obstacles like the sand trap beside the dinosaur or the water hazard just past the windmill. As a verb, hazard means to take a risk, especially for the chance of a good return. You might hazard your chances at the roulette table or hazard a guess — that is, risk making a guess when you aren't certain.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hazard hazards hazarded hazarding

A beach hazard statement is in effect through Wednesday afternoon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The reviews will examine whether the hardware and software meet performance requirements and whether appropriate hazard controls are in place.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026

To become jaded is an occupational hazard when you’ve reviewed 2,000 movies, but I was genuinely excited to see Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

But navigating those crowded waters can bring a distinct financial hazard.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Joey needs good medical care, but she isn’t a public health hazard.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

If he had amassed the same number of records, skateboard decks or vintage gaming consoles — all fire hazards — would he have gotten the same eviction warning?

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

The swings reflect the hazards of investing in tech, some analysts warn.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Speeding up the process can be life-saving, with such forecasts being essential for everything from agriculture and hydropower to protecting people from natural hazards like floods, storms and landslides.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

American jet fighters have also intervened to protect tankers from approaching fastboats and other hazards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

There’s always posters up in the school halls, and they’re never fire hazards.

From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea

I hazarded a number of guesses as to where the movement, and more importantly the reaction to it, was headed.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2022

Edward Holmes does not like making predictions, but last year he hazarded a few.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 19, 2021

The commissioner hazarded that rare dalliance with honesty back in 2012, and his motive seemed clear.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 19, 2016

But when the show’s co-curator Massimiliano Gioni, interviewing her for the catalogue, hazarded that she is “the voice of a queer community,” she said, “No. God, no.”

From The New Yorker ● May 16, 2016

Then I tossed a strand over my shoulder and hazarded a look at his table.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Borinsky invites guesses; the problem is that we might not care enough for any of the people or ideas onstage to bother hazarding them.

From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2023

Seaman Recruit Ryan Sawyer Mays was found not guilty of arson and hazarding a vessel for the devastating fire that broke out aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 30, 2022

In August, Seaman Apprentice Ryan Mays was charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2021

Scott Waddle, was instead found guilty of dereliction of duty and negligent hazarding at an administrative hearing known as an admiral’s mast, and allowed to retire with full benefits.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 17, 2018

I feared early instilled prejudice: I wanted to have you safe before hazarding confidences.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• accident
• mishap
• possibility
• risk