incur

American  

[in-kur] / ɪnˈkɜr /

verb (used with object)

• incurs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• incurred,
  past participle,  past
• incurring
  present participle

1. to come into or acquire (some consequence, usually undesirable or injurious).

   to incur a huge number of debts.

2. to become liable or subject to through one's own action; bring or take upon oneself.

   to incur his displeasure.

   Synonyms:

   provoke, incite, arouse

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incur British  

/ ɪnˈkɜː /

verb

1. to make oneself subject to (something undesirable); bring upon oneself

2. to run into or encounter

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reincur
  verb (used with object)
• incurrable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• incurring
  present
• incurred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• incur
  simple
• incurs
  simple
• have incurred
  perfect
• has incurred
  perfect
• am incurring
  progressive
• are incurring
  progressive
• is incurring
  progressive
• have been incurring
  perfect progressive
• has been incurring
  perfect progressive

Past

• incurred
  simple
• had incurred
  perfect
• was incurring
  progressive
• were incurring
  progressive
• had been incurring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will incur
  simple
• will have incurred
  perfect
• will be incurring
  progressive
• will have been incurring
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incur incurs incurred incurring

Tech scion David Ellison’s company wants the coalition of 12 states and the WGA to cover the ‘ticking fees’ that Paramount could incur due to Warner deal delays.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Even if the tariff money were specifically directed at debt service, it wouldn’t have done much to defray the roughly $1 trillion in interest the government will incur this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Each stage of that process will incur expenses such as transport and storage, and rising costs at any step could end up in the product you buy being more expensive.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

It expects to incur pretax charges of about $700 million to $800 million from the restructuring, it said on Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

But Chen wanted to incur thunderbolts during drought.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Paramount argues the plaintiffs should be on the hook for financial damages the company incurs while fighting the lawsuit—including a $7-million-a-day ticking fee that kicks in if the deal isn’t closed by Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

"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

The regulations state: "A team will have one point deducted from its points total for each penalty over it incurs."

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2025

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

Yet over time, the project incurred an astonishing $880 million in change orders, swamping the original $1.95-billion cost estimate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

He was later released on a $5,000 bond, which paired with the $1,000 bond he was already out on for a harassment charge he incurred in Montgomery County on Nov. 18, 2025.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Like Penelope waiting for Odysseus, the owners of another Viking ship used in the film had their patience tested: after the ship incurred damage during a shoot, they had to wait a year for compensation.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

“Paramount will have incurred $1.3 billion in unrecoverable financial losses as a result of ticking fees by the time post-trial briefing concludes, to say nothing of incremental financing fees and delayed synergies,” the motion said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

“It isn’t made or trimmed,” sighed Meg, faintly, for a sudden recollection of the cost still to be incurred quite overwhelmed her.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Paramount is incurring considerable legal fees and deal-related costs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Wood is concerned that it’s not just their cashflow they are consuming so rapidly, but the rate at which they are incurring debt.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

But later reporting suggested that the cancellation was part of a larger cost-cutting measure and that Warner Bros. benefited from writing off the film as a tax loss rather than incurring losses from releasing it.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

With his back against the wall, Walt decided to rerelease “Snow White” in theaters, seven years after its 1937 debut—hoping to generate income without incurring new production expenses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Finally, horses could break down, racing’s euphemism for incurring leg injuries.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• acquire
• arouse
• earn
• obtain
• provoke