incur

verb

in·​cur in-ˈkər 

incurred; incurring

transitive verb

: to become liable or subject to : bring down upon oneself

incur expenses/debt

incurred their wrath

Did you know?

Incur vs. Occur

Incur bears a strong family resemblance to another English verb, occur. If you are confused by their similarities, a glance back at their Latin roots might help you to tell them apart.

Both words have a common root in Latin currere, meaning “to run.” In the case of incur, currere was combined with Latin in “into,” which produced the meaning “to run into.” In English, the one who incurs, or “runs into,” is most often a person and the thing incurred is usually some self-inflicted negative consequence (such as a debt or somebody’s foul temper). The ancestor of occur, by contrast, paired Latin ob “in the way” with currere, producing the basic meaning “to run in the way of,” or “to present itself.” In English, the verb came to apply strictly to events, things, or ideas; something (such as a tornado) that occurs, or “presents itself,” appears or happens; a thought that occurs, or “presents itself” to someone, comes into that person’s mind.

To summarize: a person (or something composed of people, like a company) incurs, or becomes subject to, something negative; something occurs, or happens, or an idea occurs to, or comes into the mind of, someone.

Examples of incur in a Sentence

Submitting students to the rigors of learning seemed only to incur the wrath of many of them … —Ben Marcus, Time, 8 Jan. 2001

Shakespeare … took plots and characters from wherever he pleased, rarely acknowledging sources, and he saw so little sanctity in his own words that anyone could print them who cared to incur the expense—which did not include royalties to Shakespeare. —Walter Kendrick, New York Times Book Review, 29 Oct. 1989

To be too good-looking is sometimes to incur the dislike, if not the hatred, of the ordinary-looking. —Joseph Epstein, The Middle of My Tether, 1983

What did he do to incur such wrath?

Recent Examples on the Web

Expenses paid with a credit card are typically considered cash basis expenses when they are incurred, not when they are paid off. —Nancy Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026

The legal costs that could be incurred by these private schools would be devastating, with claims motivated more by rejection of beliefs than actual injury. —Stephen Mitchell, Baltimore Sun, 2 Apr. 2026

Eric Swalwell also zeroed out withholdings on his congressional salary in 2023 and withheld just $2,580 the year before, effectively delaying payment of his federal taxes in a move that incurred penalties. —Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 1 Apr. 2026

To cover expenses, Jones said his members incurred due to the lack of enactment on Capitol Hill. —Marvin Hurst, CBS News, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English incurren, from Latin incurrere, literally, to run into, from in- + currere to run — more at car

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incur

• chauffeur
• cockspur
• concur
• confer
• defer
• demur
• deter
• hotspur
• infer
• inter
• jagir
• larkspur

Kids Definition

incur

verb

in·​cur in-ˈkər 

incurred; incurring

1

: to meet with (as an inconvenience)

incur expenses

2

: to bring upon oneself

incur punishment

Etymology

from Latin incurrere "to meet with," literally, "to run into," from in- "in, into" and currere "to run" — related to current, occur

Legal Definition

incur

transitive verb

in·​cur in-ˈkər 

incurred; incurring

: to become liable or subject to : bring down upon oneself

incur obligations

incur expenses