hazard (n.)

  1. a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune; drinking alcohol is a health hazard

    [ Syn: jeopardy , peril , risk , endangerment ]

  2. an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another; bad luck caused his downfall; we ran into each other by pure chance

    [ Syn: luck , fortune , chance ]

  3. an obstacle on a golf course

    hazard (v.)

  1. put forward, of a guess, in spite of possible refutation; I am guessing that the price of real estate will rise again; I cannot pretend to say that you are wrong

    [ Syn: guess , venture , pretend ]

  2. put at risk; I will stake my good reputation for this

    [ Syn: venture , adventure , stake , jeopardize ]

  3. take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome; When you buy these stocks you are gambling

    [ Syn: gamble , chance , risk , take chances , adventure , run a risk , take a chance ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.