a declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, injury, etc., in retaliation for, or conditionally upon, some action or course: His family convinced him to take the anonymous threats seriously and call the police.
an indication or warning of probable trouble, or of being at risk for something terrible:The threat of a storm was in the air.He confessed under the threat of imprisonment.
a person or thing that threatens: Her attorney will try to convince the judge that she is not a threat to herself or others.
verb (used with or without object)
Archaic. to threaten: Do you dare to accuse and threat within my very home?
Origin of threat
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun thret(e) “crowd, multitude, verbal menace,” Old English thrēat “crowd, pressure, oppression, punishment”; cognate with Old Norse thraut “hardship, great struggle”; verb from the noun; see also threaten
“We disclose attacks like these because we believe it’s important the world knows about threats to democratic processes,” Burt said.
Russian hackers are again trying to disrupt U.S. elections, Microsoft says|Verne Kopytoff|September 10, 2020|Fortune
We have to be as patient and as responsive as we can and acknowledge the challenges that many of these major advertisers are going through as they face fundamental threats to their business models.
‘We’re getting more used to the uncertainty’: BBC Global News chief on ad-funded news|Lucinda Southern|September 10, 2020|Digiday
This is a threat that many small commercial areas will likely face in the very near future.
Myths and Shame Shouldn’t Guide Cannabis Regulations|John Bertsch|September 8, 2020|Voice of San Diego
It’s there that the NSA has unique insight into some of the biggest threats that the public and private sectors face, and uses that information to help protect the nation’s most critical infrastructure and systems from disruption.
NSA’s Anne Neuberger to talk cybersecurity at Disrupt 2020|Zack Whittaker|September 4, 2020|TechCrunch
Cygilant, a threat detection cybersecurity company, has confirmed a ransomware attack.
Cyber threat startup Cygilant hit by ransomware|Zack Whittaker|September 3, 2020|TechCrunch
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