endanger
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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endangersimple
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endangerssimple
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have endangeredperfect
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has endangeredperfect
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am endangeringprogressive
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are endangeringprogressive
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is endangeringprogressive
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have been endangeringperfect progressive
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has been endangeringperfect progressive
Past
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endangeredsimple
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had endangeredperfect
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was endangeringprogressive
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were endangeringprogressive
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had been endangeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of endanger
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at en- 1, danger
Explanation
To endanger someone is to put them in a dangerous position, or to threaten their safety. It would endanger your little brother if you encouraged him to jump off the garage roof into a pile of leaves. Texting while you drive is a good way to endanger yourself, as well as your passengers and anyone else nearby. Scientists warn that climate change will slowly begin to endanger many plant and animal species on Earth, possibly including humans. This 15th century word combines the prefix en-, "make or put in" with danger, from the Old French dangier, "power to harm."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A blocked street can delay an ambulance or endanger someone whose emergency has nothing to do with immigration enforcement.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Tottenham forward did not mean to stand on the back of Virgil van Dijk's leg, but he did and it was judged to endanger the safety of the opponent.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
“These additional allowances would not only endanger our emissions targets, they would also flood the auction market and depress cap-and-invest revenues,” said Pam Odell of the group Climate Action California.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
The boom has caused alarm among environmentalists who fear the scramble for critical minerals -- and the precious dollars they inject into Argentina's economy -- could endanger water supplies.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
“We ask you to do nothing to endanger yourself. I would not tell you the circumstances that brought us here, but without knowing them you cannot realize how desperately we need your help.”
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Although it endangers his secret Traitor identity, he tries to protect Funches.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
The judge emphasized that Dobbs focused on a right to elective abortion, while Seyb’s case “tests how far Idaho may go when a woman’s pregnancy severely endangers her health.”
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
None of this endangers the mathematical theory of relativity or the empirical science that confirms it.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
It shows a "a dangerous desire to play with fire" that endangers stability in Germany, one government source charged.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
What’s free about it, they reasoned, when the law forces you to educate your children and then endangers their lives to get them into school?
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
The traditional closer, once one of the game’s most prestigious and well-compensated positions, has become an endangered species.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
At the same time, the results may offer hope for endangered species with small or highly inbred populations.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
And they use tools -- research last year showed a critically endangered population of orcas in the Salish Sea breaking off pieces of seaweed to rub and groom each other.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
What happens to the endangered desert tortoises is awful.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Only, most baby-sitters can’t get away with the use of force, and most are not seriously endangered by their charges.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Getting such a charter would give huge latitude to crypto banks, endangering unsophisticated investors, critics say.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
But when the salt company shuttered in 2013, the pumping that maintained the basins stopped, endangering the environment the birds have come to rely on.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
In court, Saidu pleaded guilty to the charge of endangering public health.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Chinese authorities said they arrested a Northern California scholar earlier this month, accusing him of espionage and endangering national security.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
I like to think that knowing might have kept me from endangering you, that having understood and acknowledged the anger, I could control it.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
