hazmat

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The Word of the Day for January 3 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 

Example sentence:
     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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