risk
Americannoun
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exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance.
It's not worth the risk.
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Insurance.
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the hazard or chance of loss.
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the degree of probability of such loss.
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the amount that the insurance company may lose.
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a person or thing with reference to the hazard involved in insuring him, her, or it.
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the type of loss, as life, fire, marine disaster, or earthquake, against which an insurance policy is drawn.
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verb (used with object)
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to expose to the chance of injury or loss; hazard.
to risk one's life.
- Synonyms:
- jeopardize, endanger, imperil
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to venture upon; take or run the chance of.
to risk a fall in climbing;
to risk a war.
- Synonyms:
- chance
idioms
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take / run a risk, to expose oneself to the chance of injury or loss; put oneself in danger; hazard; venture.
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at risk,
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in a dangerous situation or status; in jeopardy.
families at risk in the area of the weakened dam.
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under financial or legal obligation; held responsible.
Are individual investors at risk for the debt part of the real estate venture?
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noun
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the possibility of incurring misfortune or loss; hazard
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insurance
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chance of a loss or other event on which a claim may be filed
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the type of such an event, such as fire or theft
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the amount of the claim should such an event occur
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a person or thing considered with respect to the characteristics that may cause an insured event to occur
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vulnerable; likely to be lost or damaged
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social welfare vulnerable to personal damage, to the extent that a welfare agency might take protective responsibility
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informal an expression of assent
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to proceed in an action without regard to the possibility of danger involved in it
verb
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to expose to danger or loss; hazard
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to act in spite of the possibility of (injury or loss)
to risk a fall in climbing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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risksimple
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riskssimple
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have riskedperfect
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has riskedperfect
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am riskingprogressive
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are riskingprogressive
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is riskingprogressive
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have been riskingperfect progressive
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has been riskingperfect progressive
Past
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riskedsimple
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had riskedperfect
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was riskingprogressive
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were riskingprogressive
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had been riskingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of risk
First recorded in 1655–65; from French risque, from Italian rischio, risco, of obscure origin
Explanation
A risk is an action that holds a chance of danger or failure. Although it's fun jump around on glaciers, the risk of falling down a crack into a freezing lake might deter you from ice climbing. Risk comes from the French for danger. As nouns, risk and danger are close synonyms. The verb risk means to run a danger, in hopes of reward. So risk is similar to gamble. If you're very ill, you might risk a dangerous surgery. We also use risk for money or security. You can risk your good health by working with infected patients without sterile equipment. Or you can risk your life savings on the stock market.
Vocabulary lists containing risk
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Therefore, investors should keep their appetite for risk in mind.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
They pose a risk to investors, especially at OpenAI, and it isn’t clear they’ll help benefit humanity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The WHO said better management of conditions like hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol could also help reduce dementia risk.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
They said the fire is not a risk to ospreys that are located about six miles away.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
She looks so peaceful and content I don’t really want to risk doing anything to change that.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
More outreach is needed to teach at-risk populations about brain health and tackling underlying chronic diseases that contribute to risks for cognitive decline, AARP’s Rodriguez said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Thinking Machines said it tested the model for safety, including for risks such as the potential for it to help build biological weapons or aid hackers with cyberattacks, and it performed well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
"But it carries major risks of spawning emotional over-reliance and distorted social cognition," he wrote.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
They added: "This incident – alongside wildfires we are seeing across the UK this week – serves as a stark reminder of the risks that periods of drier, hotter weather can pose."
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
He had taken the same risks and shown the same bravery as the other two men.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Meanwhile, some Iranian officials worried the country risked running out of cash to replenish dwindling stockpiles of food.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The expense would have risked putting the project over budget — but it turned out there was another option.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
The system risked drawing the attention of European regulators, since it captured exchanges between employees on both continents.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Leaving it to another day to lay out guideposts for data-related warrants risked leaving Americans’ privacy to the tender mercies of zealous law enforcement and profit-minded corporations.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
In putting himself forward, he had risked everything.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
For Southern California, it would mean a higher chance of above-average rainfall, risking a winter of flash floods and landslides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Pope Leo XIV on Saturday visits Italy's Lampedusa island, a major port of call for migrants risking the perilous crossing from Africa, in a stark message to US and EU leaders.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Geotechnical surveys found the granite’s structural integrity “entirely spent,” risking catastrophic rockfalls if sculpted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
We will hold without a stop initially, thus risking the entire call premium.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
He was risking his own pro-Lumumbist neck to stay near me, but many people were now taking risks for what they loved, he said, or simply for what they knew.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
