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Synonyms

adventurer

American  
[ad-ven-cher-er] / ædˈvɛn tʃər ər /

noun

  1. a person who has, enjoys, or seeks adventures.

  2. a seeker of fortune in daring enterprises; soldier of fortune.

  3. a person who undertakes great commercial risk; speculator.

  4. a person who seeks power, wealth, or social rank by unscrupulous or questionable means.

    They thought John was an adventurer and after their daughter's money.

  5. Usually Adventurer a member of Camp Fire, Inc., who is between the ages of 9 and 11.

adventurer British  
/ ədˈvɛntʃərə /

noun

  1. a person who seeks adventure, esp one who seeks success or money through daring exploits

  2. a person who seeks money or power by unscrupulous means

  3. a speculator

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of adventurer

First recorded in 1475–85; adventure + -er 1

Explanation

If you boldly travel to exotic and unexplored locations, you're an adventurer. One thing all adventurers have in common is a willingness to face risks and even danger in pursuit of excitement. Being an adventurer might mean scaling the highest mountains, diving to the bottom of the ocean — or for a very young child, riding a bike all the way to the end of the block. Many adventurers love to travel, particularly to rugged or unfamiliar locations. If you love adventure, you can call yourself an adventurer. Both words stem from the Latin adventura, "about to happen."

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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.

And he was very much an adventurer, right?

From Slate • Mar. 2, 2026

Popular images, such as the fearless adventurer, powerful fighter and skilled seafarer, have become familiar.

From Science Daily • Nov. 23, 2025

He draws on the photographer’s diaries and autobiography to portray his subject as a gentle-souled adventurer, driven into a peripatetic life by wanderlust and financial necessity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

The castle was built with "no expense spared" by New Zealand-born adventurer George Alexander MacLean Buckley in 1911, just three years after he joined an Antarctic voyage on Nimrod with Ernest Shackleton.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2025

Alkinoos, calm in power, heard him out, then took the great adventurer by the hand and led him from the fire.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

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.