threat

[ thret ]

/ θrɛt /

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See synonyms for: threat / threats on Thesaurus.com

noun

a declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, injury, etc., in retaliation for, or conditionally upon, some action or course: His family convinced him to take the anonymous threats seriously and call the police.

an indication or warning of probable trouble, or of being at risk for something terrible:The threat of a storm was in the air.He confessed under the threat of imprisonment.

a person or thing that threatens: Her attorney will try to convince the judge that she is not a threat to herself or others.

verb (used with or without object)

Archaic. to threaten: Do you dare to accuse and threat within my very home?

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of threat

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun thret(e) “crowd, multitude, verbal menace,” Old English thrēat “crowd, pressure, oppression, punishment”; cognate with Old Norse thraut “hardship, great struggle”; verb from the noun; see also threaten

OTHER WORDS FROM threat

coun·ter·threat

[koun-ter-thret], /ˈkaʊn tərˌθrɛt/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use threat in a sentence

“The threat to elephants is greater than it’s ever been,” said Richard Leakey, a leading palaeoanthropologist and conservationist scholar.
Can artificial intelligence give elephants a winning edge?|Walter Thompson|November 20, 2020|TechCrunch
We have to protect the progress we’ve made and the anti-vaccination movement is a threat to that progress.
Oxford says COVID-19 vaccine has produced strong immune response ahead of late-stage trial results|kdunn6|November 19, 2020|Fortune
She said police escorted her out of the building after the meeting and that she has received death threats.
For three hours, an obscure county board in Michigan was at the center of U.S. politics|Kayla Ruble, Tom Hamburger, David Fahrenthold|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
QAnon you know has moved into more of a threat of violence in recent years.
EmTech Stage: Facebook’s CTO on misinformation|Tate Ryan-Mosley|November 18, 2020|MIT Technology Review

For example, the group’s app includes an SOS button where a voter can record threats of violence.
The race to get Georgia’s 23,000 17-year-olds registered to vote|Tanya Basu|November 15, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Thence marching southward, he threated Nisibis, which is said, to have been within a little of yielding itself.
The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 7. (of 7): The Sassanian or New Persian Empire|George Rawlinson
An Irishman asked him if that was the way "he threated a fellow creathur?"
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
"They have allus let us stay, even when they have threated us before now," whimpered a man.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day

British Dictionary definitions for threat

threat

/ (θrɛt) /

noun

a declaration of the intention to inflict harm, pain, or misery

an indication of imminent harm, danger, or pain

a person or thing that is regarded as dangerous or likely to inflict pain or misery

verb

an archaic word for threaten

Word Origin for threat

Old English; related to Old Norse thraut, Middle Low German drōt

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with threat

threat

see triple threat.

threat

Origin of threat

OTHER WORDS FROM threat

Words related to threat

How to use threat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for threat

Word Origin for threat

Other Idioms and Phrases with threat