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:
One of my favorite moments in their adventure shows Higgins finding his way to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
From Salon ● 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
Sear said Arnie was "absolutely fine" after her little adventure.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
His adventure wasn’t going to start once he got to Rio Luna.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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
WSJ | Buy Side: These duffels have you covered for everything from weekend trips to outdoor adventures, whether you’re traveling by plane, train or car.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Shields’ Instagram features dozens of photos of her adventures skateboarding, surfing, camping and hiking across California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
“He was always pinching himself about the life that he had — the stories, the adventures, and his luck.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
He consoled himself with the new adventures he could share with her.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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
“That’s precisely why I had Emet-Selch take on the role of chiding like, ‘What’s with that lonely look, as though you know and have adventured through everything there is to see in the world?
From The Verge ● Apr. 29, 2022
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
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
If biking with a cat or small dog is on someone’s bucket list, the brand’s pet carrier clicks right into the rear cargo rack for easy adventuring.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025
During the day, when you aren’t out adventuring, you can find a shady spot beneath a towering ponderosa pine or cedar tree.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2024
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.
