live dangerously

Idioms

Take numerous risks, be daring, as in Bill never knows if he'll have enough money to pay the next month's rent—he likes to live dangerously. This expression figured in the work of such 19th-century German writers as Nietzsche, who regarded it as an admirable course of action. Today it is often used with mildly humorous effect, as in the example. [c. 1900]

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.

Many communities live dangerously close to the volcanoes in order to cultivate the fertile soil they provide.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2024

The Cardinals continue to live dangerously on offense with ill-timed fumbles and some tough third-down penalties.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 6, 2021

What Andy provided most was the springboard and encouragement to live dangerously outside the margins.”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2021

And for those who prefer to live dangerously, Uber has a new feature to make spontaneous curbside pickups less hectic.

From The Verge • Oct. 6, 2021

They discovered that the best means of living safely was to live dangerously.

From German Problems and Personalities by Saroléa, Charles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023