hazard

(hăz'ərd)
n.

1. A chance; an accident.
2. A chance of being injured or harmed; danger: Space travel is full of hazards.
3. A possible source of danger: a fire hazard.
4. Games. A dice game similar to craps.
5. Sports. An obstacle, such as a sand trap, found on a golf course.

tr.v., -ard·ed, -ard·ing, -ards.

1. To expose to danger or harm. See synonyms at endanger.
2. To venture (something); dare: hazard a guess.

[Middle English hasard, dice game, from Old French, possibly from Old Spanish azar, possibly from Arabic az-zahr, the gaming die : al-, the + zahr, gaming die.]

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Circumstance that increases the likelihood or probable severity of a loss. For example, the storing of explosives in a home basement is a hazard that increases the probability of an explosion.

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noun

1. An unexpected random event: accident, chance, fluke, fortuity, hap, happenchance, happenstance. See certain/uncertain, surprise/expect.
2. The quality shared by random, unintended, or unpredictable events or this quality regarded as the cause of such events: chance, fortuitousness, fortuity, fortune, hap, luck. See certain/uncertain.
3. Exposure to possible harm, loss, or injury: danger, endangerment, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk. See safety/danger.
4. A possibility of danger or harm: chance, gamble, risk. See safety/danger.

verb

1. To expose to possible loss or damage: adventure, compromise, risk, venture. See safety/danger.
2. To run the risk of: adventure, chance, risk, venture. See safety/danger.
3. To have the courage to put forward, as an idea, especially when rebuff or criticism is likely: dare, presume, pretend, venture. See try.

adj

Definition: risk
Antonyms: keep safe

n

Definition: danger
Antonyms: protection, safeguard, safety

n

Definition: luck, chance
Antonyms: assurance, certainty, determination, fact, proof, reality, surety

An unexpected threat to humans and/or their property. By this definition, the Indian monsoon is not a hazard, but its failure is. The most frequently occurring hazards are climatic: drought, hurricanes, floods, ice, snow, and fog; tectonic: earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunami; or due to mass movement: landslides and avalanches.

Traditionally, hazards have been classified as anthropogenic and ‘natural’; for example, respectively, radioactive pollution, and a volcanic eruption. This division is no longer current, since humans are now understood always to have been part of nature, and it is not always possible to distinguish between ‘natural’ and anthropogenic causation. Furthermore, a natural event becomes a hazard through:

▪ the social processes which cause some people to be much more at risk from the effects of a hazard, notably uneven development;
▪ a lack of options to minimize, or escape from, the effects of the hazard. Tarash province, Bangladesh, has a population density of 510 km², and half of its territory is submerged by the annual monsoon (UNDP);
▪ the location of human settlement on potentially dangerous physical sites, such as Plymouth, Monserrat, engulfed by volcanic ash in 1997;
▪ the location of human settlement near potentially dangerous economic activity. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration rates fishing as the most dangerous occupation in the USA;
▪ activities that aggravate events with natural causes. In the Maghreb countries, forests and wooded vegetation in uplands and on slopes play an important role in land stabilization, erosion control, and regulation of hydrological flow. However, deforestation in these areas has resulted in increased flooding, erosion, desertification, and siltation of dams (FAO 1997).

Human beings continue to inhabit hazard-prone areas, either because the benefits of doing so outweigh the risk—volcanic areas, for example, have rich soils—or because they are too poor to move, or because they do not take the risks seriously. It has been noted that human beings consistently underrate natural hazards; the growth of San Francisco did not halt after the earthquake of 1906, nor, for that matter, after the shocks of 1989. Some geographers see this response—or lack of response—as an example of cognitive dissonance.

Many modern hazards may be seen as a result of industrial overproduction, entailing the emission of toxic substances, and the use of biotechnology, and, as with global warming, these hazards can have world-wide repercussions.

(DOD) A condition with the potential to cause injury, illness, or death of personnel; damage to or loss of equipment or property; or mission degradation. See also injury; risk.

A risk.

• h. analysis critical control points — a systematic procedure used to identify specific hazards (for example in food production) and establish control systems that focus on preventive measures rather than rely on end-product testing.
• chemical h. — a chemical capable of causing poisoning is on the premises and represents a potential threat.
• radiation h. — radioactive material is on the premises and represents a potential threat to animals in that environment.

For a list of words related to hazard, see:

• Insurance - hazard: situation that increases possibility of loss
• Golf
• Indoor Games
• Thinking, Judgment, and Consideration - hazard: guess, estimate

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See words rhyming with "hazard."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Hazard.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - fare, risiko, tilfælde, træf, hasard, terningspil
v. tr. - vove, sætte på spil

idioms:

• hazard a guess    driste sig til at fremsætte

Nederlands (Dutch)
gevaar, kans, toeval, in de zak gestoten bal (biljard), opening (tennis), speelhelft van ontvanger (tennis), hindernissen bij golfspel, taxistandplaats (Ierland), kansspel(en), dobbelspel, wagen, riskeren, in gevaar brengen

Français (French)
n. - risque, hasard, obstacle (golf)
v. tr. - oser, hasarder, se hasarder à dire que, risquer (sa vie, sa santé)

idioms:

• hazard a guess    risquer/hasarder une idée

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gefahr, Hindernis, Risiko
v. - wagen, riskieren

idioms:

• hazard a guess    es mit Raten versuchen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κίνδυνος (κν. ρίσκο), τύχη
v. - διακινδυνεύω, ριψοκινδυνεύω, ρισκάρω, αποτολμώ

idioms:

• hazard a guess    διακινδυνεύω μια πρόβλεψη

Italiano (Italian)
osare, arrischiare, pericolo, gioco d'azzardo

idioms:

• hazard a guess    azzardare un'ipotesi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - risco (m), casualidade (f), probabilidade (f), obstáculo (m) no jogo de golfe (Desp.)
v. - arriscar

idioms:

• hazard a guess    arriscar um palpite

Русский (Russian)
риск, случай, шанс, вид игры в кости, рисковать, осмеливаться

idioms:

• hazard a guess    осмелиться что-л. предположить

Español (Spanish)
n. - peligro, riesgo, azar, servicio ganador
v. tr. - atreverse a, osar, arriesgar, poner en peligro

idioms:

• hazard a guess    tirarse un lance, aventurar una respuesta

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - risk, hinder (golf), slump, (slags) tärningsspel
v. - riskera, våga framkasta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
危险, 危险之源, 危害物, 机会, 冒...的危险, 使遭危险, 赌运气

idioms:

• hazard a guess    随便猜测

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 危險, 危險之源, 危害物, 機會
v. tr. - 冒...的危險, 使遭危險, 賭運氣

idioms:

• hazard a guess    隨便猜測

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 위험, 우연, 주사위 놀이의 일종
v. tr. - 위태롭게 하다, ~를 과감히 말해보다, 모험하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 危険, 障害地域, 偶然, 運
v. - 危険にさらす, 賭ける, 思い切って言う

idioms:

• hazard a guess    運まかせで推量する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الهزرد ضرب من لعب النرد, مصدر خطر, مخاطرة, مجازفه, تصادف, مصادفه (فعل) يخاطر, يجازف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סכנה, סיכון, משחק-מזל‬
v. tr. - ‮הסתכן ב-, העז, סיכן‬

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