incur

American  

[in-kur] / ɪnˈkɜr /

verb (used with object)

• incurs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• incurred,
  past participle,  past
• incurring
  present participle

1. 

   to come into or acquire (some consequence, usually undesirable or injurious).

   to incur a huge number of debts.

2. to become liable or subject to through one's own action; bring or take upon oneself.

   to incur his displeasure.

   Synonyms:

   provoke, incite, arouse

---

incur British  

/ ɪnˈkɜː /

verb

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

2. to run into or encounter

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reincur
  verb (used with object)
• incurrable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• incurring
  present
• incurred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• incur
  simple
• incurs
  simple
• have incurred
  perfect
• has incurred
  perfect
• am incurring
  progressive
• are incurring
  progressive
• is incurring
  progressive
• have been incurring
  perfect progressive
• has been incurring
  perfect progressive

Past

• incurred
  simple
• had incurred
  perfect
• was incurring
  progressive
• were incurring
  progressive
• had been incurring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will incur
  simple
• will have incurred
  perfect
• will be incurring
  progressive
• will have been incurring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of incur

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin incurrere “to run into, come upon,” equivalent to in- in- ² + currere “to run”; see current

Explanation

To incur is to get or receive — and usually it's something you brought upon yourself. If you don't pay your credit card bills on time, you'll likely incur lots of fees and some serious debt. Generally, when you incur something, that something is undesirable. You can incur penalties, expenses, a parking ticket, or a friend’s wrath, for example. But it's pretty unlikely that you'd incur free tickets to the World Series. Frederick Douglass once famously said, “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incur incurs incurred incurring

A laboratory could still buy the chips, complete the training run and incur most of the associated data-center expense.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Zscaler expects to incur restructuring charges of $30 million to $33 million, mostly for employee and severance benefits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Of course, as so many 19th-century paintings capture, left out of this telling is that Orestes’ crimes incur the Furies’ wrath.

From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026

He told the court this led to his client to incur "avoidable expenses at every stage", and called on the court to award him expenses incurred to date.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Farmers grab a few harvests, but the soil is not bared to rain and sun long enough to incur permanent damage.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

According to Fifa regulations, a red card "automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match" but the governing body "may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures".

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

“To the extent he inadvertently incurs exposure to those industries through third-party managers or liquid legacy investments, Tom will donate all profits to charity.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026

Shutting in an oil well risks long-term damage to reservoir pressure and incurs high restart costs, usually making it a measure of last resort.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

The sale helps Occidental reduce its net debt but eliminates a diversifying asset and incurs a significant $1.7 billion tax bite.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2025

Also, even if a dangler is in no danger of being misinterpreted, enough readers have trained themselves to spot danglers that a writer who leaves it incurs the risk of being judged as slovenly.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended without pay for six months for “his involvement with the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Mr. Leonard and his family.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

But EDL, charged with maintaining the grid, is tackling large debts incurred during the expansion and due to consumer subsidies.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

A government that will chase its own citizens for taxes incurred in 1999 has forfeited any argument that 1938 is too long ago to matter.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

This means many of the losses incurred in the attacks have been borne by those businesses.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

According to a study by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, each year the average jockey is injured three times and spends a total of almost eight weeks sidelined by injuries incurred on the track.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

The exemption, known as the de minimis rule, had helped Shein and rival Temu grow rapidly as it allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the US without incurring import duties.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Paramount is incurring considerable legal fees and deal-related costs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

The hedge-fund firm Situational Awareness is down around 67% in July after incurring heavy losses on AI stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Once the funds are advanced, you cannot simply change your mind and return the money to cancel the agreement without incurring significant financial consequences.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

Finally, horses could break down, racing’s euphemism for incurring leg injuries.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• acquire
• arouse
• earn
• obtain
• provoke