risk

[ risk ]
/ rɪsk /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR risk ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance: It's not worth the risk.
Insurance.
  1. the hazard or chance of loss.
  2. the degree of probability of such loss.
  3. the amount that the insurance company may lose.
  4. a person or thing with reference to the hazard involved in insuring him, her, or it.
  5. the type of loss, as life, fire, marine disaster, or earthquake, against which an insurance policy is drawn.

verb (used with object)

to expose to the chance of injury or loss; hazard: to risk one's life.
to venture upon; take or run the chance of: to risk a fall in climbing; to risk a war.

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Idioms for risk

    at risk,
    1. in a dangerous situation or status; in jeopardy: families at risk in the area of the weakened dam.
    2. under financial or legal obligation; held responsible: Are individual investors at risk for the debt part of the real estate venture?
    take / run a risk, to expose oneself to the chance of injury or loss; put oneself in danger; hazard; venture.

Origin of risk

1655–65; <French risque<Italian risc(hi)o, of obscure origin

OTHER WORDS FROM risk

risker, nounriskless, adjectiveun·risked, adjective

Words nearby risk

rising diphthong, rising hinge, rising rhythm, rising sign, rising trot, risk, risk-averse, risk aversion, risk-benefit, risk capital, risk factor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to risk

prospect, peril, danger, uncertainty, possibility, liability, hazard, opportunity, exposure, endanger, imperil, jeopardize, compromise, defy, fortuity, plunge, fortune, flyer, jeopardy, header

Example sentences from the Web for risk

British Dictionary definitions for risk

risk
/ (rɪsk) /

noun

verb (tr)

to expose to danger or loss; hazard
to act in spite of the possibility of (injury or loss)to risk a fall in climbing

Derived forms of risk

risker, noun

Word Origin for risk

C17: from French risque, from Italian risco, from rischiare to be in peril, from Greek rhiza cliff (from the hazards of sailing along rocky coasts)
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

Medical definitions for risk

risk
[ rĭsk ]

n.

The possibility of suffering a harmful event.
A factor or course involving uncertain danger, as with smoking or exposure to radiation.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with risk

risk
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.