threat

[ thret ]

/ θrɛt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR threat ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, injury, etc., in retaliation for, or conditionally upon, some action or course; menace: He confessed under the threat of imprisonment.

an indication or warning of probable trouble: The threat of a storm was in the air.

a person or thing that threatens.

verb (used with or without object)

Archaic. to threaten.

Origin of threat

before 900; (noun) Middle English threte, Old English thrēat pressure, oppression; cognate with Old Norse thraut hardship, bitter end; (v.) Middle English threten, Old English thrēatian to press, threaten

OTHER WORDS FROM threat

coun·ter·threat, noun

Words nearby threat

threads, threadworm, thready, thready pulse, threap, threat, threaten, threatened species, threatening, three, three age system

Example sentences from the Web for threat

When communism was a threat, it was construed as a communist plot.

Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers |Michael Schulson |July 27, 2016 |DAILY BEAST
But this war jumps from city to city, depending the threat of the day.

Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War |Nancy A. Youssef |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
“The threat streams to U.S. interests and Western interests are off the chart,” he said.

ISIS Fight Has a Spy Shortage, Intel Chair Says |Kimberly Dozier |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
The Perfect Storm writer talks combat brotherhood and the threat posed by growing wealth inequality.

Sebastian Junger on War, Loss, and a Divided America |The Daily Beast Video |January 1, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

But not even the threat of death can suppress the urge to live vicariously through Jack Dawson and James Bond.

North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom |Lizzie Crocker |December 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I could not carry my threat into execution, having no weapon.

Tales of the Wonder Club |M. Y. Halidom (pseud. Dryasdust)
Her task was the more difficult since she herself was held as a threat over her brother's head.

A Young Man's Year |Anthony Hope
No bribe could seduce—no threat divert Mr. Adams from the path of duty.

Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution |L. Carroll Judson
I knew Brunow a great deal too well to think him likely to assault me after having put me on my guard by a threat.

In Direst Peril |David Christie Murray
It was only upon the threat of the Czar to continue the war by himself that the Austrians consented to move forward upon Paris.

History of Modern Europe 1972-1878 |C. A. Fyffe

British Dictionary definitions for threat

threat

/ (θrɛt) /

noun

a declaration of the intention to inflict harm, pain, or misery

an indication of imminent harm, danger, or pain

a person or thing that is regarded as dangerous or likely to inflict pain or misery

verb

an archaic word for threaten

Word Origin for threat

Old English; related to Old Norse thraut, Middle Low German drōt

Idioms and Phrases with threat

threat

see triple threat.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

threat

noun

verb (used with or without object)

Origin of threat

OTHER WORDS FROM threat

Words nearby threat

Example sentences from the Web for threat

British Dictionary definitions for threat

noun

verb

Word Origin for threat

Idioms and Phrases with threat

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

threat

noun

verb (used with or without object)

Origin of threat

OTHER WORDS FROM threat

Words nearby threat

Words related to threat

Example sentences from the Web for threat

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for threat

noun

verb

Word Origin for threat

Idioms and Phrases with threat

British Dictionary definitions for threat