adventure
Americannoun
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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.
After a short stop back at base camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, for Clarke's men, they will make their way back to Florida where this adventure kicked off three weeks ago.
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026
Still, the tales here tend more toward quiet reflection than high adventure.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 19, 2026
The wildlife park said it believed Mary made an "abnormally large leap" to embark on her 15-day adventure.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
The first moment is played for comedy: As Dunk readies himself for adventure, the theme begins to swell before cutting to him in a bout of sickness.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
Neither heat nor thirst stopped Don Quixote; there was only adventure in his mind.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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.
