Skip to main content
hazmat

hazmat

16 7.2
Dangerous chemicals or materials that can harm people and the environment
  • noun
  • /ˈhæzˌmæt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : material peligroso
  • There are strict regulations for transporting hazmat materials to protect public health.
  • hazmat suit

I remember watching that, the film of a young boy who died, who was buried by people in hazmat suits without his parents there.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • A hazmat team was called in to clean up the chemical spill at the factory.

  • Call a hazmat unit, and have them set up a perimeter.

  • The girl is in a Hazmat suit.

  • I could always wear a hazmat suit.

  • You realize that everybody around you is wearing a hazmat suit, right?

  • I had to get out my Hazmat suit just to get into the thing.

  • Send out a HAZMAT unit.

  • The men working in the crawl space wear hazmat suits.

    Blog text (19)
  • There's a bunch of guys in hazmat suits.

  • The FBI arrived at that location as well, along with another HazMat team and local police and firefighters, said Police Chief John Romero.

    Blog text (28)

How Dangerous

explosive
  • Specialized
336 5.5
radioactive material
  • Specialized
16 5.1
hazmat
  • Specialized
16 7.2
toxic waste
36 3.5

Surface Forms

hazmat singular
hazmats plural

Morphology

hazmat = hazardous + material (semi-transparent) = hazardous + material

Formed by blending/clipping 'hazardous' + 'materials' so the meaning is recoverable from the base words, but the clipped segments ('haz'/'mat') may obscure the relation for some learners.

Etymology

Hazmat is a short form of hazardous ('dangerous') and materials ('substances'), so it literally means 'dangerous substances'. That's why hazmat is used for chemicals, spills, or other items that can harm people or the environment.