hazard
verb
Did you know?
At first hazard was a game of chance played with dice. The English word comes from medieval French, in which the game was called hasard. This French word was probably borrowed from Arabic az-zahr, meaning “the dice” or “one of the dice.” The game was borrowed from the French by the English, and within a few centuries what had been a chance taken on the outcome of a throw of the dice could be any venture or risk. Now “chance” or “venture” and “risk” or “peril” are the usual meanings of hazard. The verb hazard emerged in the 16th century.
Examples of hazard in a Sentence
Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 13 May 2026
Forecasters say confidence is lower in the exact timing, where storms will be strongest, and which hazards will be most likely.
—Kansas City Star, 23 Apr. 2026
Clothes Iron and Steamer Many cruise lines have policies forbidding the use of clothes irons and steamers and won’t allow these fire hazards onboard.
—Jill Schildhouse, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026
At over 1,800 lives lost per year, winter vehicle-crash fatalities are four times greater than the total number of all other weather hazards combined, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
—Jim Gorzelany, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hazard
Cite this Entry
“Hazard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hazard. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hazard
1 of 2 noun
hazard
2 of 2 verbMiddle English hazard "game of chance," from early French hasard (same meaning), from Arabic az-zahr "the die (one of the dice)"
Legal Definition
hazard
noun
