incur
Americanverb (used with object)
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incurs,
present (3rd person singular)
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incurred,
past participle, past
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incurring
present participle
verb
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to make oneself subject to (something undesirable); bring upon oneself
-
to run into or encounter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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incursimple
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incurssimple
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have incurredperfect
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has incurredperfect
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am incurringprogressive
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are incurringprogressive
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is incurringprogressive
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have been incurringperfect progressive
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has been incurringperfect progressive
Past
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incurredsimple
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had incurredperfect
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was incurringprogressive
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were incurringprogressive
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had been incurringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incur
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin incurrere “to run into, come upon,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + currere “to run”; see current
Explanation
To incur is to get or receive — and usually it's something you brought upon yourself. If you don't pay your credit card bills on time, you'll likely incur lots of fees and some serious debt. Generally, when you incur something, that something is undesirable. You can incur penalties, expenses, a parking ticket, or a friend’s wrath, for example. But it's pretty unlikely that you'd incur free tickets to the World Series. Frederick Douglass once famously said, “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
Vocabulary lists containing incur
Make a Run for It: Cur, Curs
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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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:
The proposition also could incur additional costs for state and local governments depending on the attorney general’s interpretation of what constitutes program expenses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Because equities are riskier than fixed income, investors demand a higher expected return to incur that greater risk — regardless of where interest rates may stand.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
In connection with its restructuring, Zscaler said it would incur charges of about $30 million to $33 million, consisting mostly of employee and severance benefits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Of course, as so many 19th-century paintings capture, left out of this telling is that Orestes’ crimes incur the Furies’ wrath.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
They slunk into the room, each trying to hide behind the other, knowing that the poor results of their search were likely to incur the Chief’s wrath.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
"But as any sailor knows, the longer a ship is out to sea, the more problems it incurs and the harder the days become for those onboard," he added.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
If LA28 incurs massive financial losses, the city would cover the first $270 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
According to Fifa regulations, a red card "automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match" but the governing body "may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures".
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Encrypting and decrypting your traffic as you go about your online business incurs a cost, resulting in a speed hit on your connection.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
Also, even if a dangler is in no danger of being misinterpreted, enough readers have trained themselves to spot danglers that a writer who leaves it incurs the risk of being judged as slovenly.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Lauren Meadows, whose videos about motherhood have earned her 256,000 followers on TikTok, has posted several about medical debt she incurred from baby deliveries and hospital stays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
When Nebius raised $5.75 billion in convertible debt in August 2026, the effective interest rate it incurred increased significantly when the duration of the debt extended from 2030 to 2034.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
In 2018 Saints centre Rob Horne went in for a hard but routine tackle and incurred nerve damage that cost him the use of his right arm.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months for “his involvement with the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Mr. Leonard and his family.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
After a long and bloody encounter in which something like 50,000 casualties were incurred, the Union troops routed the Confederates—but then squandered the best opportunity they’d yet had to smash General Lee’s army decisively.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Three major airlines -- JetBlue, United and American -- issued travel alerts allowing passengers to change their flights without incurring fees.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
The exemption, known as the de minimis rule, had helped Shein and rival Temu grow rapidly as it allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the US without incurring import duties.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Paramount is incurring considerable legal fees and deal-related costs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The hedge-fund firm Situational Awareness is down around 67% in July after incurring heavy losses on AI stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Mainly he had learned that he could, occasionally at least, jump from his cage and wander around without incurring any anger or injury.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
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.
