hazard

American  

[haz-erd] / ˈhæz ərd /

noun

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.

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verb (used with object)

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 )

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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

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

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

“When you increase the population density around these types of facilities, you are increasing the hazard that if something goes mechanically wrong, more people are going to be at risk,” Shonkoff said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026

All are clad from head to toe in hazard suits with facemasks and goggles, to guard against a disease spread through close physical contact and bodily fluids.

From Barron's • May 24, 2026

These shorter faults are not usually included in national earthquake hazard calculations because they are considered too small to produce very large earthquakes.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

To reduce the growing fire hazard, airlines are adding new precautions on top of banning the batteries from checked luggage.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Ernest now discovered one hazard of overambitious planning: the cost overrun.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• accident
• mishap
• possibility
• risk