Meaning & use
grave threat
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
a very serious danger that could cause great harm
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a grave threat' or 'grave threats'. Often followed by 'to': a grave threat to peace.
Patterns
- a grave threat to something
- pose a grave threat
- represent a grave threat
Climate change is a grave threat to coastal cities.
The virus poses a grave threat to public health.
Leaders described the situation as a grave threat to regional stability.
Word forms
| plural | grave threats |
|---|
Common combinations
- pose a grave threat
- The rebels pose a grave threat to the government.
- a grave threat to national security
- The leak was seen as a grave threat to national security.
- a grave and imminent threat
- The army warned of a grave and imminent threat.
- constitute a grave threat
- Such weapons constitute a grave threat to civilians.
Synonyms and how they differ
- serious danger
- More general; 'grave threat' is stronger and suggests possible disaster.
- peril
- Literary or formal; 'grave threat' is more common in modern news.
Commonly confused: grave threat or grave?
grave threat vs grave
'Grave' alone can mean a burial place, but in this phrase it means very serious.
Practice
The new law was seen as a grave threat ___ freedom of speech.
Choose one answer.
The correct preposition is 'to': a threat to something. 'For' is sometimes used with 'threat' in other patterns, but 'a threat to' is the standard phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “grave threat”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.