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:
A major surgery inspires a mother-son adventure through Iceland’s remote Westfjords, where winding roads, thundering waterfalls and uneven hiking trails offer both travelers a test.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
The demo shown to journalists, covering the opening hour and a later section of the adventure, unfolded much as it did in the 1998 original.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Tomlin said he preferred playing in creative mode, as opposed to survival, hardcore or adventure modes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
That adventure led to dog-sledging through the Arctic, scuba diving, and multiple high summit climbs.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
There had been no word at all—that is, until Penelope’s recent adventure in London with the three Incorrigible children.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Then go back to looking at those beachfront condos with beautiful views and trendy historic lofts, all the while dreaming about your future adventures.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Holmes and Watson’s adventures “give us the material world of Victorian London with a solidity that not even Dickens can match.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Joining Vision in his “VisionQuest” adventures are an array of other AIs created by Tony Stark — all of which essentially now reside inside of Vision’s head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
The novel tells the story of a teacher who flees gang violence in Haiti and his adventures before he finally makes it to Canada, where he re-discovers "the right to breathe without fear".
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
But a recent Harper’s Magazine had printed four illustrations on the adventures of this man standing at Maggie’s hotel door.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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
One seal even adventured under a picnic table near a cafe, the newspaper reported.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 30, 2019
As Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, Carol has led the Avengers, adventured with the X-Men and saved the world over and over again.
From The Verge ● Sep. 19, 2018
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
In “Delicious in Dungeon,” a ragtag adventuring crew makes hot pot out of man-eating mushrooms.
From Salon ● May 12, 2025
One date turned into three years of adventuring, monthly travels, new restaurants, cities, family weddings and concerts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 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
And then he said, “Right, young man, I think you’ve done enough adventuring for one day.”
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
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