adventure
Americannoun
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adventures
plural
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an exciting or very unusual experience.
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participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises.
the spirit of adventure.
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a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.
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a commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture.
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Obsolete.
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peril; danger; risk.
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chance; fortune; luck.
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verb (used with object)
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to risk or hazard.
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to take the chance of; dare.
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to venture to say or utter.
to adventure an opinion.
verb (used without object)
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to take the risk involved.
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to venture; hazard.
noun
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a risky undertaking of unknown outcome
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an exciting or unexpected event or course of events
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a hazardous financial operation; commercial speculation
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obsolete
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danger or misadventure
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chance
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verb
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to take a risk or put at risk
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to dare to go or enter (into a place, dangerous activity, etc)
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to dare to say (something)
he adventured his opinion
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of adventure
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English aventure, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Vulgar Latin adventūra (unrecorded) “what must happen,” feminine (originally neuter plural) of Latin adventūrus future participle of advenīre “to arrive”; ad- ad- replacing a- a- 5; see advent, -ure
Explanation
An adventure is an exciting and probably risky trip, effort, or undertaking. Let's go explore the jungle! Don't be scared — it'll be an adventure! To a kid from the city, a ride on the subway is just another trip across town. To a kid from the suburbs, though, it can be a real adventure — a trip to a strange place with all sorts of strange people, new sights, and surprising twists and turns. If you've ever been to the Great Adventure amusement park, you know that the whole place is designed to make you feel as though you're on a wild, exciting, and thrilling trip — a great adventure. People often go on an adventure hoping something wonderful will come of it.
Vocabulary lists containing adventure
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Introduction to Fiction
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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:
At several points in their adventure, Olmo and Miguel break out their best dance moves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
I love traveling by myself because I can do a lot of activities, whether it’s spending a few hours at a museum or having an outdoor adventure.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
"Even if you bought two from the same series, the same weight and structure, the two cymbals wouldn't perfectly match. Because it's handmade, it's basically an adventure," the 42-year-old told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
This was the end of the adventure in France, but the beginning of a glorious era for Welsh football.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Duane gave a sigh of relief for Magic while he turned toward the front of the toboggan, toward the portion of the thrilling adventure ride that was still unfinished and awaiting.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
The game is the organizing factor in the narrator’s globe-trotting adventures, whose objectives, never obvious to begin with, always seem to be changing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
I could easily hail “Howl’s Moving Castle” as a tribute to maturity, especially when placed against other Miyazaki stories starring young heroines setting out on adventures.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
The UK bestseller lists have a range of titles that sit in the "epic other-world adventures" category defined by the research, including:
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Though their big-screen adventures could not capture the comedic chaos of their stage act, Martin and Lewis transformed even the most pedestrian screenplay into box-office gold.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
In 1916, Elizebeth’s adventures in code breaking began in the Newberry Library, with a phone call to an oddball millionaire.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Bruce: We were as basic as we could be, talking about something we’ve never fully adventured into, and rightly so.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024
On the one hand, he tells us, the annals are haunted by “those who almost adventured, who almost achieved, but ultimately, for them, it proved to be too much.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2022
I’m not sure Dave will be around in a year or two when I’m all adventured out.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2020
As I look back at my vanlife adventure, it blows my mind that I’ve adventured more during the first year of my 30s than almost all 29 years before.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 8, 2019
George Marston, the official artist of the expedition, had adventured in the Antarctic with Shackleton, too.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
A self-described B-student, he spent his childhood adventuring in the wilderness near his hometown of Seattle, and as a kid had preferred skiing to YouTube.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
One of those characters is Silas, Sherlock’s adventuring father who doesn’t appear until the end of Episode 4.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
Mr Deen added that Jeremiah liked football, exploring and adventuring, and that the family would not dwell on the sadness, but would "focus on how happy he made us in his life".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2024
The original Dragon’s Dogma, from 2012, married robust combat with slow, methodical adventuring and baroque, anime-esque pomp.
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2024
“Dad and Mom went off adventuring, and you and Papa stayed here. Maybe it’s time to get off this rock.”
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
