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

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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

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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

Strong demand for new models based on the firm's Neue Klasse platform meanwhile meant the company would incur charges to bring in extra shifts, it said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

Speedier installations shorten the period during which customers incur data center expenses without generating revenue.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

If you are willing to incur greater risk, more power to you.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

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

Some real estate agents worry that the hyper-rich will resent the tax, but so far wealthy homebuilders seem to regard it as a pittance compared with the other costs they incur.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Tairine, who sells hot dogs, used to abstain from voting, even though - as voting is compulsory in Brazil - not going to the polls incurs a fine.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 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

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

“To the extent he inadvertently incurs exposure to those industries through third-party managers or liquid legacy investments, Tom will donate all profits to charity.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 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

The commitments include approximately $447.5 billion expected to be incurred before the end of 2030; substantially all the rest is likely to hit between 2031 and 2045.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

As if Albon was not already having a rough season, to top it he incurred the wrath of Fernando Alonso in Austin after the two collided on the first lap, leaving both with damaged cars.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

That’s up from the 8% those transactions previously incurred when treated as ordinary orders on ByteDance’s Douyin video app.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Because of that potential financial liability, Mejia’s office said that “Angelenos deserve full transparency from LA28 related to all spending and revenue incurred in the process of planning and executing the 2028 Olympic Games.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Years later, Theodore Parker incurred the wrath of the pro-slavery forces in the country.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry

Ben says he's reached an agreement to pause the interest on most of it, but he is still incurring charges on around £2,000 of credit card debt and is worried about his repayments going up.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

Still, the two-year yield has now fallen for six straight weeks, incurring the biggest six-week loss in more than a year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

You're not incurring a direct cost on your books for this old software, but in reality you are, only it's an implicit cost until something like this happens.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026

Despite his efforts to avoid incurring the wrath of Uncle Sam, Marset eventually came into the crosshairs of the DEA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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

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Related Words

• acquire
• arouse
• earn
• obtain
• provoke

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