danger
Americannoun
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dangers
plural
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liability or exposure to harm or injury; risk; peril.
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an instance or cause of peril; menace.
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Obsolete. power; jurisdiction; domain.
noun
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the state of being vulnerable to injury, loss, or evil; risk
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a person or thing that may cause injury, pain, etc
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obsolete power
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liable to
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critically ill in hospital
Synonym Usage
Danger, hazard, peril, jeopardy imply harm that one may encounter. Danger is the general word for liability to all kinds of injury or evil consequences, either near at hand and certain, or remote and doubtful: to be in danger of being killed. Hazard suggests a danger that one can foresee but cannot avoid: A mountain climber is exposed to many hazards. Peril usually denotes great and imminent danger: The passengers on the disabled ship were in great peril. Jeopardy, a less common word, has essentially the same meaning as peril, but emphasizes exposure to the chances of a situation: To save his friend he put his life in jeopardy.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of danger
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English da(u)nger, from Anglo-French, Old French dangier, alteration of dongier (by influence of dam damage ), from Vulgar Latin domniārium (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin domini(um) dominion + -ārium (neuter of -ārius -ary )
Explanation
When you're in danger, it seems likely that you might get hurt. Your mom might warn you that if you don't wear your bicycle helmet, you're in danger of getting injured. A baby bird teetering on the edge of its nest is in danger, and a driver whose car stalls on railroad tracks is also in danger. When something unpleasant might happen, you can also use the word danger: "We were in danger of running out of guacamole before the party ended." Danger can also be a precarious or perilous place, as when you step up on the curb on a busy street, out of danger.
Vocabulary lists containing danger
Indiana Jones Vocabulary
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Part 1 Vocabulary (Unit 1)
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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:
Early is interested in the sickly vanity of eating disorders and conceptual femininity, and he explores the danger of these illnesses through a lens that is both uneasy and unique to his film.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
The study—which documents experiments that concluded about a year ago—arrives at a moment of heightened anxiety regarding danger posed by increasingly powerful AI models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
We’re entering Los Angeles, circa 1981, and just like the Overlook Hotel, danger lurks beneath a glamorous facade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
"There's the wildlife killed, people are being put in danger and it takes emergency services away. It is a real waste of resources."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
He was well aware of the danger of leading the charge.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
“Maddie’s Secret” does an impressive job of highlighting the dangers of this kind of enabling.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
Evie Roberts, a silversmith who teaches jewellery-making at the centre, said people needed to be educated about the dangers of discarding bottles or cigarettes, which can cause fires.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The technology industry, AI researchers and governments alike are grappling with how to understand and mitigate the new dangers unlocked by increasingly powerful AI tools, with some calling for increased oversight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
He was the latest in a series of internet personalities targeted in Mexico, dramatizing the potential dangers of social media presence and commentary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Prison spared Trina the uncertainty of homelessness but presented new dangers and challenges.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
