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# threat

«threat» in Mova's school dictionary: **when someone says they will hurt you or do something bad…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a threat, threats)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A threat is when someone says they will hurt you or do something bad if you do not do what they want. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#m1)

2) A threat is also something or someone that could cause danger or harm, like a storm or a disease. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#m2)

3) A sign that something bad may happen is a threat of it, like «a threat of rain». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In safety lessons a threat must be told to a trusted adult and never kept secret; in science, threats to animals include pollution and habitat loss. Phrases: «make a threat», «under threat», «a threat to», «the threat of», «an empty threat».

### examples

- The bully made a threat, so I told my teacher. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x1)
- Pollution is a threat to sea animals. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x2)
- There is a threat of thunderstorms tonight. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x3)
- Pandas were under threat, but their numbers are growing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x4)
- Don't give in to threats; get help. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x5)
- His warning was just an empty threat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x6)
- Wildfires are a threat in hot, dry summers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x7)
- The old Fairy fancied she was slighted, and muttered some threat between her teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/#x8)

### note

Countable. Verb: threaten; adjective: threatening. Pronounced THRET (th as in «thin»). Online threats are serious too: save them and tell an adult. «Under threat» means in danger.

### In the corpora

- [See, it says 'mild threat' here."](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/57-age-ratings-and-why-they-exist/7/)
- [Caimans and crocodiles bask with their mouths open to let heat escape and cool down; it is not a threat or a yawn.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/42-the-capybara/16/)
- [Sea urchins are covered with movable spines that point towards a threat, and their mouth underneath has five teeth called Aristotle's lantern.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/248-defences-skunks-porcupines-hedgehogs-and-armour/11/)
- [Staring straight into a strange dog's eyes can feel like a threat to the dog.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/22-meeting-a-dog-safely/14/)
- [Some promises do not count: a promise forced by a threat, or one that controls who you can be friends with.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/199-promises/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «threat» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/threat/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.