What does danger mean?
Danger is an English noun denoting the possibility of harm, injury, or loss, whether to people, property, or interests. It can refer both to an abstract state of risk — as in 'the passengers were out of danger' — and to a concrete source of threat, as in 'that dog is a danger to children'. The word carries no inherent formality and appears freely in everyday speech, journalism, safety notices, and legal writing. Common collocations include 'in danger', 'out of danger', and 'a danger to society'. Its derived forms are widely used as well: the adjective 'dangerous' describes things that pose risk, and 'dangerously' serves as its adverb. Etymologically intriguing, danger descends through Old French from a root connected to Latin 'dominus', meaning lord or master, so the word's earliest sense involved being subject to another's power. Today it stands among the most essential English words for expressing risk and peril.
The possibility of suffering harm, injury, or loss.
"Lifeguards kept swimmers away from the rip current because of the danger it posed."
Often used with the prepositions 'in' ('in danger') and 'of' ('in danger of collapse').
A person, thing, or situation that is likely to cause harm; a hazard.
"An unsecured gas leak is a serious danger in any home."
The plural refers to multiple distinct sources or instances of risk, and is common in phrases like 'the dangers of smoking'.
"The report outlined the dangers of leaving children unsupervised near water."
Danger once meant the exact opposite of what you'd guess: it comes from a Latin word for a lord's absolute power — being 'in danger' originally meant being in someone's grip.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of danger
Danger entered Middle English from Old French 'danger', which originally meant power or authority, ultimately deriving from Vulgar Latin '*dominarium', rooted in Latin 'dominus' (lord, master). Over time the sense shifted through 'power to harm' to 'risk of harm'. The same Latin root gives English related words such as 'damage', 'dame', 'damsel', and 'dominate'.
Related word forms
How danger is actually used
Danger is a common, neutral-register noun used across formal and informal contexts. It frequently appears in fixed phrases such as 'in danger', 'out of danger', and 'at danger', and is commonly followed by prepositions like 'of', 'to', or 'in'.
Easily confused with danger
Peril means serious and immediate danger, often of grave harm, whereas danger is the broader everyday term for any risk of harm.