HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
n. 1. a. A chance of being injured or harmed: Space travel is full of hazards. b. Risk or danger: a high degree of hazard. 2. A possible source of danger: This room is a fire hazard. 3. Games A game played with dice that is a forerunner of craps and was especially popular in England in the 1600s and 1700s. 4. Sports An obstacle, such as a sand trap, found on a golf course. 5. Archaic Chance or an accident. tr.v. haz·ard·ed, haz·ard·ing, haz·ards 1. To expose to danger or risk. See Synonyms at endanger. 2. a. To venture (something): hazard a guess. b. To express at the risk of denial, criticism, or censure: "The wise young captain ... hazarded to the lieutenant-colonel that the enemy's infantry would probably soon attack the hill" (Stephen Crane). [Middle English hasard, a kind of dice game, from Old French, from Old Spanish azar, unlucky throw of the dice, chance, possibly from Arabic az-zahr, the die : al-, the + zahr, die (possibly from zahr, flowers (the losing sides of some medieval dice perhaps being decorated with images of flowers), from zahara, to shine, be radiant; see zhr in the Appendix of Semitic roots).] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
