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.
See Examples For:
The flesh-and-blood narrative offers a new take on 2011's "Green Lantern," a Ryan Reynolds-led space adventure movie.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
But the genre also requires action, adventure, enlightenment, struggle, the guest-host relationship observed by the ancients and the supremacy of brains over brawn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
He had been in Boy Scouts and had an appetite for adventure, but it was the prospect of having his college paid for that sealed the deal.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
"I'm sure, knowing him, he will go on another adventure," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Cliff-hanging adventure, romantic love story—read it and you’ll think you’re living it!
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
In the books and TV adaptations, Laura vividly narrates daily life on the prairie, recounting her adventures and mundane activities in such a way that many readers say they see themselves in adolescent Laura.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The briskly paced film is equally entertaining while recounting her wild adventures of yore and while following her around Manhattan and Fire Island today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
By then, she had connected with fellow Becker fan Nicola and the pair had "great adventures" camping at Wimbledon over the years.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Still said: "I never imagined I'd be doing anything like this at 91, but I enjoyed it so much that I'm now planning more fun adventures."
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
As a rule, brave explorers do not have worried governesses mouthing objections to their adventures in Parts Unknown.
From "The Unseen Guest" 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
“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
In “Delicious in Dungeon,” a ragtag adventuring crew makes hot pot out of man-eating mushrooms.
From Salon ● May 12, 2025
Stay: The historic Hotel Andaluz is a five-minute walk from the Albuquerque station, making it a perfect home base for adventuring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 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
“Stay here while the rest of you go adventuring? Not a chance!”
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
