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:
Don’t force them to flout congressional intent or endanger lives in doing so.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
The transit agency said that if delays continued much longer, it would endanger their ability to get L.A. and neighboring communities ready in time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Managers at the newspaper also argued that her mention of “a white man” could endanger the physical safety of Post employees.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
A woman was cleared of possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and perverting the course of justice.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
There is even reason to think that her mother may have carried an illness that will endanger others — — and the women need the space where their cott was.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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
Hublin says, “We are always acquiring, yes? All across the world, industrialization endangers mineral deposits. We collect as many types of minerals as exist. To a curator, none is superior to any other.”
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
The critically endangered apes are found in the wild only in Indonesia and Malaysia.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
At the same time, the administration has moved to weaken federal protections for endangered fish and other species.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
"Just as we can predict population growth or endangered species, we can model the evolution of feelings within a couple," explains Pujo-Menjouet.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
In 2022, following a court order, the gray wolf received endangered species protections in 48 states and Mexico but not in the Northern Rocky Mountains, according to the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
“Yes, you are,” said the officer, “but that doesn’t give you the right to sell endangered species. Let’s go see the judge.”
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
It also cannot be ruled out that Iranian hackers might one day succeed in endangering US water supplies, experts added.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Three men were arrested on Saturday in Gironde -- where a wildfire has already scorched 32,000 hectares -- on suspicion of endangering lives, prosecutors said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Getting such a charter would give huge latitude to crypto banks, endangering unsophisticated investors, critics say.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
In each series, a large sum of money has disappeared, endangering those who know or supposedly know where it is.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
All that hard work, solving the clues, burning midnight oil, endangering the lives of his friends, it had all come to nothing.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
