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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 3, 2007 is:
hazmat \HAZ-mat\ noun
: a material (as flammable or poisonous material) that would be a danger to life or to the environment if released without precautions
Examples:
When asbestos was discovered, the company called in a hazmat team to identify and remove all of it.
Did you know?
The origin of "hazmat" is clear enough -- it was formed by combining the first three letters of each of two words: "hazardous" and "material." The word "hazmat" is fairly young, first appearing in print in 1980. Although it is a noun, "hazmat" tends to be used attributively, meaning that it often appears in sentences before another noun as if it were performing the duties of an adjective (as in "hazmat team" and "hazmat worker").
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