hazard

/ˈhæzərd/

/ˈhæzəd/

Other forms: hazards; hazarded; hazarding

If something is a hazard, it is a potential source of danger. Balloons are fun, but they're a hazard for little kids who might put them in their mouths.

If you play miniature golf, you have to watch for hazards on the course — obstacles like the sand trap beside the dinosaur or the water hazard just past the windmill. As a verb, hazard means to take a risk, especially for the chance of a good return. You might hazard your chances at the roulette table or hazard a guess — that is, risk making a guess when you aren't certain.

Definitions of hazard

1. noun

   an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
   synonyms: chance, fortune, luck

   types:

   bad luck, mischance, mishap

   an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate

   even chance, toss-up, tossup

   an unpredictable phenomenon

   type of:

   phenomenon

   any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
2. noun

   a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune
   “drinking alcohol is a health hazard”

   synonyms: endangerment, jeopardy, peril, risk

   types:

   health hazard

   hazard to the health of those exposed to it

   moral hazard

   (economics) the lack of any incentive to guard against a risk when you are protected against it (as by insurance)

   occupational hazard

   any condition of a job that can result in illness or injury

   sword of Damocles

   a constant and imminent peril

   biohazard

   hazard to humans or the environment resulting from biological agents or conditions

   type of:

   danger

   a cause of pain or injury or loss
3. noun

   an obstacle on a golf course
   types:

   bunker, sand trap, trap

   a hazard on a golf course

   water hazard

   hazard provided by ponds of water that the golfer must avoid

   type of:

   obstacle

   an obstruction that stands in the way (and must be removed or surmounted or circumvented)
4. verb

   put at risk
   synonyms: adventure, jeopardize, stake, venture

   type of:

   lay on the line, put on the line, risk

   expose to a chance of loss or damage
5. verb

   take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
   synonyms: adventure, chance, gamble, risk, run a risk, take a chance, take chances

   types:

   go for broke

   risk everything in one big effort

   luck it, luck through

   act by relying on one's luck

   type of:

   assay, attempt, essay, seek, try

   make an effort or attempt
6. verb

   put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation
   synonyms: guess, pretend, venture

   types:

   anticipate, call, forebode, foretell, predict, prognosticate, promise

   make a prediction about; tell in advance

   surmise, suspect

   imagine to be the case or true or probable

   read

   interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves, intestines, the sky; also of human behavior

   outguess, second-guess

   attempt to anticipate or predict

   augur

   predict from an omen

   bet, wager

   maintain with or as if with a bet

   calculate, forecast, project

   predict in advance

   prophesy, vaticinate

   predict or reveal through, or as if through, divine inspiration

   type of:

   speculate

   talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way and with an element of doubt or without sufficient reason to reach a conclusion