incurred

incurred — verb

1. the past tense form of 'incur' — used when someone became responsible for or exp

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

the past tense form of 'incur' — used when someone became responsible for or experienced something unwanted (such as a cost, debt, penalty, loss, injury, or anger) as a result of their own earlier actions or decisions

Example

Minho incurred a large debt to pay for his younger sister's university fees.

collocation: incurred + debt

Christopher incurred a fine of NT$1,500 for parking his scooter in a restricted zone.

collocation: incurred + fine

Common collocations
  • incurred a debt
  • incurred losses
  • incurred a fine
  • incurred costs
  • incurred expenses
  • incurred the wrath of
  • incurred public anger
  • incurred criticism
  • incurred damage
  • incurred an injury
Synonyms
  • suffered

    broader in meaning — can be used for any pain, loss, or hardship, not necessarily caused by one's own action

  • sustained

    more formal, typically used for physical damage, injury, or financial loss in official or legal reports

  • ran up

    informal, used specifically for debts or bills that accumulate over time

  • contracted

    very formal, used for debts, diseases, or formal obligations

Antonyms
  • avoided

    successfully stayed away from a consequence

  • prevented

    took action to stop a negative outcome before it happened

Grammar Patterns

incurred + noun phrase (cost, debt, loss, penalty, anger)

Usage Note

The object is almost always something negative: a cost, debt, loss, penalty, fine, injury, wrath, or criticism. Common in formal, financial, and legal contexts. Unlike 'suffer', 'incur' emphasises that the person's own action caused the consequence.

Common Mistakes

The company is incurred heavy losses last year.
The company incurred heavy losses last year.
'incurred' is already past tense; do not add an auxiliary 'is'.
She incurred a nice compliment from her teacher.
She incurred her teacher's displeasure by handing in the assignment late.
'incur' is only used for unwanted or negative outcomes, not positive ones.
We incurred to the hospital after the accident.
We incurred medical expenses after the accident.
'incur' is transitive and needs a direct object; it does not mean 'go to'.

Word family

  • incur
    verbB2
  • incurs
    verbB2
  • incurring
    verbB2
  • incurrence
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words can describe experiencing something negative, but they differ in scope and formality. 'Incurred' uniquely stresses that the person's own action caused the consequence — you incur a debt by borrowing, or incur anger by offending. 'Suffered' is the most general and can describe pain or loss from any cause, including accidents or illness. 'Sustained' is found mainly in formal reports ('sustained injuries', 'sustained damage') and feels clinical. 'Ran up' is informal and specific to accumulating debts or bills over time, as in 'ran up a huge credit card bill'. 'Contracted' is very formal and limited to debts, diseases, or legal obligations. For example: 'The company incurred a penalty for late payment.' sounds more focused on responsibility than 'The company suffered a penalty.' which just describes the fact.

sufferedsustained ↗ran upcontracted

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • commonly incurred
  • frequently incurred
  • previously incurred
  • indirectly incurred
  • unnecessarily incurred

Phrases

  • at the risk of incurring
  • without incurring any
  • so as not to incur
  • may incur

Prepositions

  • incurred by
  • incurred through
  • incurred as a result of
  • incurred in connection with

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Incurred is the past tense and past participle of 'incur', which came into English from Old French 'encourir', tracing back to the Latin verb 'incurrere' — a combination of 'in-' (into, towards) and 'currere' (to run). The original image was of 'running into' something, which later shifted to the idea of 'running into trouble' and eventually became the general sense of becoming subject to something unpleasant through one's own actions.