Meaning & use
hazard
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A source of danger or a risk of harm, damage, or loss.
Grammar: Countable noun: you can talk about 'a hazard' or 'many hazards'.
Patterns
- a hazard to someone/something
- health hazard
- fire hazard
Smoking is a serious health hazard.
The icy road was a hazard for drivers.
They identified several safety hazards in the factory.
verbtransitive
To risk something, or to venture a guess or statement despite uncertainty.
Grammar: Takes an object: hazard a guess, hazard a remark.
Patterns
- hazard a guess
- hazard a statement
I wouldn't hazard a guess about the outcome.
He hazarded a remark about the weather.
She hazarded her reputation by speaking out.
Word forms
| third person singular | hazards |
|---|---|
| past tense | hazarded |
| past participle | hazarded |
| -ing form | hazarding |
| plural | hazards |
Common combinations
- health hazard
- Asbestos is a known health hazard.
- fire hazard
- Leaving candles unattended is a fire hazard.
- hazard a guess
- Can you hazard a guess at how many people will come?
- hazard to
- The chemical waste is a hazard to the environment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- danger
- Danger is a general word for the possibility of harm; hazard often refers to a specific source of danger.
- risk
- Risk is the chance that something bad will happen; hazard is the thing that causes the risk.
- peril
- Peril is a literary or formal word for serious danger; hazard is more everyday.
Opposites
Word family
- hazardous adjective
- Dangerous or risky.
- hazardously adverb
- In a dangerous or risky way.
Commonly confused: hazard or haphazard?
hazard vs haphazard
Haphazard means disorganized or random; hazard is a danger or risk.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The correct preposition is 'to': a hazard to someone. 'For' is possible in some contexts but 'to' is standard for a source of danger.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hazard”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.