Word of the Day.

threat   

 

Function: noun

Plural: threats

Meanings:
1: a statement saying you will be harmed if you do not do what someone wants you to do
Examples:
[count]<He was willing to use violence and threats to get what he wanted.>
<bomb/death threats>
<He carried out his threat. [=he did the thing that he threatened to do]>
<She said she would leave him, but he knew it was an idle/empty threat. [=he knew that she did not mean it]>
[noncount] <an action done under threat [=done by someone who has been threatened with harm]>

2 a [count] : someone or something that could cause trouble, harm, etc. — usually singular
Examples:
<He perceived the question as a threat to his authority.>
<These people are not a threat to the social order.>
<Their financial problems are a threat to their marriage.>

2 b [count] : the possibility that something bad or harmful could happen
Examples:
[count] — usually singular<We can't ignore the threat posed by nuclear weapons.>
<The weather forecast calls for cloudy skies with a threat of rain.>
<There is a real threat of civil war.>
[noncount] <a country under threat of civil war>