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jeopardize

/ˈdʒepərdaɪz//ˈdʒepədaɪz/·verb
to put something valuable at risk of harm, loss, or failure
Fig. 1 — A tidy tower of blocks stands perfectly safe, if right at the very lip of a cliff.
01Definition

To jeopardize something is to expose it to danger — to act in a way that could destroy or lose a thing that was, until then, safe. You jeopardize your health, a deal, a friendship, a career. The word always implies that something worth keeping now hangs in the balance because of a risk taken or a mistake made; it does not mean certain ruin, but it means the safe ground is gone and loss has become a real possibility.

02In use
  • iOne careless email could jeopardize months of delicate negotiation.
  • iiCutting corners on safety to save time jeopardizes the crew and can undermine years of hard-won trust.
  • iiiHe refused to jeopardize his recovery by going back to such a precarious situation too soon.
03Collocations
  • jeopardize the project
  • jeopardize your health
  • seriously jeopardize
  • jeopardize a deal
  • jeopardize relations

Family jeopardy (noun)

04Relations

=endanger, imperil, risk, threaten, compromise

≠protect, safeguard, secure

06TOEFL & IELTS

A high-value verb for IELTS Writing on risk, policy, and the environment — 'this could jeopardize long-term sustainability' is far stronger than 'cause problems'. It takes a valued thing as its object (health, peace, success). The noun is jeopardy ('in jeopardy'). Spelled with -ize or -ise depending on the variety.

07Asked
Is it 'jeopardize' or 'jeopardise'?
Both are correct — jeopardize is American spelling, jeopardise British, the same -ize/-ise split as organize/organise. Notably, only the spelling changes: the sound is identical in both. Pick the form that matches your variety of English and stay consistent. Oxford British style actually prefers the -ize ending, so jeopardize is safe almost everywhere.
How do you pronounce jeopardize?
JEP-er-dize — three syllables, stress on the first. The trap is the spelling: the 'eo' is just a short 'e', as in 'leopard', so the o is silent. It is not 'jee-OP-ar-dize'. The noun jeopardy works the same way: JEP-er-dee. Once you hear 'leopard' inside it, the pronunciation clicks.
What is the difference between jeopardize, endanger, and imperil?
All three put something at risk, with different weights. Endanger is the plainest and often physical (endanger lives, an endangered species). Jeopardize is common for things you value — a deal, a career, a friendship. Imperil is the most formal and dramatic, close to 'put in grave danger'. Endanger threatens safety; jeopardize threatens success; imperil sounds the loudest alarm.
What does 'in jeopardy' mean?
In danger of being lost, harmed, or destroyed — 'the peace deal is in jeopardy', 'his career was in jeopardy'. Jeopardy is the noun behind jeopardize: to jeopardize something is to put it in jeopardy. In American law, 'double jeopardy' is the rule against trying someone twice for the same crime.
Where does the word 'jeopardy' come from?
From Old French jeu parti, 'a divided game' — a contest so evenly balanced that either side could win or lose. That uncertainty is the heart of the modern word: to jeopardize is to throw a safe thing back into a game whose outcome is no longer sure. The odd 'eo' spelling is a fossil of that French origin.
What can you jeopardize?
Something valued that was, until then, safe — health, a career, a relationship, a deal, peace, safety, success. The word implies real stakes: you do not jeopardize trivial things. The scene above is the logic in blocks — a tidy tower at a cliff's edge, one block pulled from the bottom, and the whole safe stack sent over.