jeopardy

[ jep-er-dee ]
See synonyms for: jeopardyjeopardies on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural jeop·ard·ies.
  1. hazard or risk of or exposure to loss, harm, death, or injury: For a moment his life was in jeopardy.

  2. peril or danger: The spy was in constant jeopardy of being discovered.

  1. Law. the danger or hazard of being found guilty, and of consequent punishment, undergone by criminal defendants on trial.

Origin of jeopardy

1
1200–50; Middle English j(e)uparti, joupardi(e), j(e)upardi(e) <Anglo-French, Old French: literally, divided game or play, hence, uncertain chance, problem (in chess or love), equivalent to j(e)u play, game (<Latin jocusjoke) + parti, past participle of partir to divide; see party

synonym study For jeopardy

1, 2. See danger.

Opposites for jeopardy

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use jeopardy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for jeopardy

jeopardy

/ (ˈdʒɛpədɪ) /


noun(usually preceded by in)
  1. danger of injury, loss, death, etc; risk; peril; hazard: his health was in jeopardy

  2. law danger of being convicted and punished for a criminal offence: See also double jeopardy

Origin of jeopardy

1
C14: from Old French jeu parti, literally: divided game, hence uncertain issue, from jeu game, from Latin jocus joke, game + partir to divide, from Latin partīrī

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