jeopardy

American  

[jep-er-dee] / ˈdʒɛp ər di /

noun

plural

jeopardies

1. hazard or risk of or exposure to loss, harm, death, or injury.

   For a moment his life was in jeopardy.

   Antonyms:

   security

2. peril or danger.

   The spy was in constant jeopardy of being discovered.

   Antonyms:

   security

3. Law. the danger or hazard of being found guilty, and of consequent punishment, undergone by criminal defendants on trial.

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jeopardy British  

/ ˈdʒɛpədɪ /

noun

1. danger of injury, loss, death, etc; risk; peril; hazard

   his health was in jeopardy

2. law danger of being convicted and punished for a criminal offence See also double jeopardy

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Related Words

See danger.

Etymology

Origin of jeopardy

1200–50; Middle English j ( e ) uparti, joupardi ( e ), j ( e ) upardi ( e ) < Anglo-French, Old French: literally, divided game or play, hence, uncertain chance, problem (in chess or love), equivalent to j ( e ) u play, game (< Latin jocus joke ) + parti, past participle of partir to divide; party

Example Sentences

A local derby always poses an element of jeopardy, but Russo's relentless performance began eliminating Tottenham's threat inside five minutes.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

But the Coinbase approach may be in legal jeopardy.

From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026

Your aunt’s bank may wish to protect itself from legal jeopardy related to prior withdrawals, but it still has obligations under elder-abuse laws.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

But the sustainability of those efforts is in jeopardy.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

“The word you are looking for is driven. That Cocoon put everything I’d worked so hard for in jeopardy, so it was pretty easy to shrug off.”

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• peril