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
Words Every Pirate Should Know
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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:
While publishers “exhibited a strong preference for. . . what might be called ‘highbrow works,’ ” Ms. Manning observes, the favorites among enlisted men ran more to “westerns, mysteries, stories of adventure and page-turning fiction.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Before getting into the details of these fatuous claims, a few words of background on Trump’s Venezuelan adventure are warranted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
That adventure led to dog-sledging through the Arctic, scuba diving, and multiple high summit climbs.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Netflix has revealed that the new installment will delve deeper into the Addams family history, while the newly released Paris image suggests that Wednesday’s next adventure could take her beyond Nevermore Academy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Still, there was the promise of a train, of a mountain, of an adventure that I couldn’t get out of my head.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Though adolescents might not be easy to thrill, they long for great IRL adventures like the rest of us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
If you’re consistent with your goals, the more Dora the Explorer–style adventures your bird can go on.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
The story, which is told entirely in rhyme, follows Crumble the cat on his daring garden adventures.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Christopher and Anya’s adventures unspool at a breathless pace as they hop from island to island, dueling with pirates, trespassing among giants and competing in a deadly street race featuring some of Glimouria’s nastier creatures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
“Whatever adventures our journey holds, we are safer together than apart,” Penelope thought as the conductor helped them one by one onto the train.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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
One seal even adventured under a picnic table near a cafe, the newspaper reported.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2019
But halfway down the steps, she realized just how long it had been since she’d adventured by herself.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
That’s largely because we’ve been adventuring together since we were 7 years old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 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
Whether he’s adventuring in creator Michael Bond’s children’s books, making the jump to animated TV series or most recently, the big screen, Paddington always sees the best in people.
From Salon ● Jan. 20, 2025
Jones, an adventuring archaeologist, is seen with the hat early on in the movie where he and his companions jump from a crashing plane in an inflatable raft.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2024
“It’s been nice adventuring with you guys,” Grover said, his voice trembling.
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
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.
