jeopardy

American  

[jep-er-dee] / ˈdʒɛp ər di /

noun

• jeopardies
  plural

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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Synonym Usage

See danger.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• jeopardies
  plural

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; see party

Explanation

To be in jeopardy is to be in danger. Eating three plates of nachos a day may improve your chances of winning your office's nacho-eating contest; unfortunately, it could also put your health in jeopardy. Jeopardy is a state of being, so this word is almost always preceded by the preposition "in." The phrase "in jeopardy" is just one of several ways to convey that someone is in trouble. You can also try "at risk," "in danger," or — if you're into idioms — "on thin ice," "out on a limb," or "up the creek without a paddle."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jeopardy jeopardies

The company had been targeting a midyear debt sale before a group of states sued to block the Warner Bros. merger, putting the acquisition in jeopardy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Reports soon surfaced that Schmitt’s general counsel Ethan Harper, who stood behind him holding the infamous poster, saw his potential White House staff position being placed into immediate jeopardy.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

The dispute between the city of Santa Fe Springs and the Metropolitan Little League has put the 65-year-old youth sports partnership in jeopardy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Yet the deep selloff gripping the $31.5 trillion Treasury market isn’t putting the year’s biggest M&A deal in jeopardy.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Or should he put the dream in jeopardy and elect to have the surgery done on Boobie now, before it was too late, before there was more physical and psychological damage?

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Her second record, The Art of Loving, is brimming with memorable songs about the jeopardies and joys of falling in love.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

And there the sisters are placed in strange and typical Village jeopardies.

From Time Magazine Archive

Another type of response is elicited by this column when we report on the joys and jeopardies encountered by individual staff members in preparing stories.

From Time Magazine Archive

The difference is that guarding the nation is not just another job; it is a moral obligation involving jeopardies and commitments that cannot safely be jobbed out, in effect, on a mercenary basis.

From Time Magazine Archive

Still there are pretty grave and anxious drawbacks, jeopardies, fears.

From Complete Prose Works Specimen Days and Collect, November Boughs and Goodbye My Fancy by Walt Whitman

Related Words

• peril