threat

1 of 2

noun

ˈthret 

1

: an expression of intention to inflict evil, injury, or damage

2

: one that threatens

3

: an indication of something impending

the sky held a threat of rain

threat

2 of 2

verb

threated; threating; threats

archaic

: threaten

Synonyms

Noun

• danger
• hazard
• imminence
• menace
• peril
• pitfall
• risk
• trouble

Examples of threat in a Sentence

Noun

He was willing to use violence and threats to get what he wanted.

She ignored their threats and continued to do what she felt was right.

a country under threat of civil war

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Musk, in a post on X on Monday night, doubled down on his threat to fire federal employees who fail to submit the list. —Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 25 Feb. 2025

Open Doors said that threats against Christians have escalated in recent years, with 355 killed in the DRC last year alone. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025

Management and boards need to have their expectations set appropriately about the achievable recovery time objective for secure recovery including the time to investigate the incident and remediate the threats. —James Blake, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

Tate, Amen Thompson and Steven Adams aren’t threats to punish Golden State enough from behind the arc and the four Rockets (minus Adams) are driving threats. —Kelly Iko, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English thret coercion, threat, from Old English thrēat coercion; akin to Middle High German drōz annoyance, Latin trudere to push, thrust

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing threat

• bomb threat
• counter-threat
• empty threat
• idle threat
• triple threat
• under threat

Rhymes for threat

• bet
• brett
• debt
• et
• fret
• get
• jet
• let
• lett
• met
• net
• nett

Kids Definition

threat

noun

ˈthret

1

: an expression of an intent to do harm

stop making threats

2

: something that threatens

the volcano was a threat to the village

3

: an indication of something impending

the sky held a threat of rain

Legal Definition

threat

noun

: an expression of an intention to injure another : menace sense 1

criminal laws against making terroristic threats