incur

[ in-kur ]

/ ɪnˈkɜr /

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verb (used with object), in·curred, in·cur·ring.

to come into or acquire (some consequence, usually undesirable or injurious): to incur a huge number of debts.

to become liable or subject to through one's own action; bring or take upon oneself: to incur his displeasure.

Nearby words

Origin of incur

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin incurrere to run into, come upon, equivalent to in- in-² + currere to run; see current

SYNONYMS FOR incur

2. arouse, incite, provoke.

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Related formsin·cur·ra·ble, adjectivere·in·cur, verb (used with object), re·in·curred, re·in·cur·ring.self-in·curred, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for incurs

The immense strategic cost this incurs to the U.S. does not seem to interest them in the least.
Is Netanyahu the New Caligula?|Ilana Bet-El|September 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
More importantly, Obama has shown that he can take on Netanyahu and inflict more political damage than he incurs.
How Barack Beat Bibi|Peter Beinart|March 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The House, therefore, at every moment, incurs the hazard of becoming obnoxious to its constituents.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. II. (of 12)|Edmund Burke
He himself is a man who carries through anything that he undertakes, no matter if he incurs loss in so doing.
In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers|G. A. Henty

Obligation to pay is essential to a debt; and as the State assumes, no obligation it incurs no debt.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine|Various
If he refuses to marry her by semando, no marriage takes place, and he incurs a fine to the father of ten dollars and a goat.
The History of Sumatra|William Marsden
He who gives out money at usury loses it (if proved), and, moreover, incurs further punishment.
The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof, Volume I (of 2)|Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza

British Dictionary definitions for incurs

incur

/ (ɪnˈkɜː) /

verb -curs, -curring or -curred (tr)

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

to run into or encounter

Derived Formsincurrable, adjective

Word Origin for incur

C16: from Latin incurrere to run into, from currere to run

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for incurs

incur

early 15c., from Anglo-French encurir, Middle French encourir, from Latin incurrere "run into or against, rush at, make an attack;" figuratively, "to befall, happen, occur to," from in- "upon" (see in- (2)) + currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). Related: Incurred; incurring.

incur

verb (used with object), in·curred, in·cur·ring.

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Origin of incur

Examples from the Web for incurs

incur

verb -curs, -curring or -curred (tr)

Word Origin for incur

incur