venture
Americannoun
-
ventures
plural
-
an undertaking involving uncertainty as to the outcome, especially a risky or dangerous one.
a mountain-climbing venture.
-
a business enterprise or speculation in which something is risked in the hope of profit; a commercial or other speculation.
Their newest venture allows you to order their products online.
-
the money, ship, cargo, merchandise, or the like, on which risk is taken in a business enterprise or speculation.
-
Obsolete. hazard or risk.
verb (used with object)
-
ventures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ventured,
past participle, past
-
venturing
present participle
-
to expose to hazard; risk.
to venture one's fortune;
to venture one's life.
- Synonyms:
- jeopardize, imperil, endanger
-
to take the risk of; brave the dangers of.
to venture a voyage into space.
-
to undertake to express, as when opposition or resistance appears likely to follow; be bold enough; dare.
I venture to say that you are behaving foolishly.
-
to take the risk of sending.
verb (used without object)
-
ventures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ventured,
past participle, past
-
venturing
present participle
-
to make or embark upon a venture; dare to enter or go.
He ventured deep into the jungle.
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to take a risk; dare; presume.
to venture on an ambitious program of reform.
-
to invest venture capital.
adjective
idioms
verb
-
(tr) to expose to danger; hazard
he ventured his life
-
(tr) to brave the dangers of (something)
I'll venture the seas
-
(tr) to dare (to do something)
does he venture to object?
-
(tr; may take a clause as object) to express in spite of possible refutation or criticism
I venture that he is not that honest
-
(intr; often foll by out, forth, etc) to embark on a possibly hazardous journey, undertaking, etc
to venture forth upon the high seas
noun
-
an undertaking that is risky or of uncertain outcome
-
-
a commercial undertaking characterized by risk of loss as well as opportunity for profit
-
the merchandise, money, or other property placed at risk in such an undertaking
-
-
something hazarded or risked in an adventure; stake
-
archaic chance or fortune
-
at random; by chance
Synonym Usage
See dare.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
venturesimple
-
venturessimple
-
have venturedperfect
-
has venturedperfect
-
am venturingprogressive
-
are venturingprogressive
-
is venturingprogressive
-
have been venturingperfect progressive
-
has been venturingperfect progressive
Past
-
venturedsimple
-
had venturedperfect
-
was venturingprogressive
-
were venturingprogressive
-
had been venturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of venture
First recorded in 1400โ50; late Middle English, shortened from aventure adventure
Explanation
A venture is a risky undertaking. If your latest venture is a dog food store, you hope there are some hungry dogs around. Also, to venture is to go somewhere possibly dangerous, like if you venture out into a snowstorm. Venture is a shortened form of adventure. This happened sometime between 1100 CE and 1400 CE during the time that Middle English was spoken. While the two words are similar in meaning, when you subtract the ad, you lose a teaspoon or two of fun, and add a heaping tablespoon of risk.
Vocabulary lists containing venture
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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"The Cask of Amontillado"
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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:
Venture-capital firms are rethinking the way they work with their limited partners as venture, buoyed by the artificial intelligence boom, becomes a more important asset class.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 9, 2026
Despite the experts not being jazzed about them, I did technically find some utility in my venture into at-home cortisol testing.
From Slate โ Oct. 9, 2026
Ultimately he blew $825,000 and two decades of work on the venture in vain.
From Barron's โ Oct. 8, 2026
Sir David Attenborough has promised to "venture even further" and uncover marine life that is "more precious than we ever realised" in Blue Planet III.
From BBC โ Oct. 7, 2026
“My name is Shukra. I am the guardian of the Bridge of Forgetting. It is rare that I talk to living beings. You see, I do not venture often beyond my bridge.”
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
Investors are left with unanswered questions as the company leans on car sales to help fund its expensive AI ventures.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 9, 2026
We did, however, register a website for our new school ventures, ProPublicaAcademy.com, and even designed some fun pencils to show our school spirit.
From Salon โ Oct. 4, 2026
Densmore’s a busy guy, with various charitable causes and artistic ventures.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 3, 2026
The trouble that has cropped up is a dispute between the managers of Parton’s ongoing business ventures, She’s Alive, and Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver.
From MarketWatch โ Sep. 28, 2026
“Never again. We shall restrict ourselves to more tasteful ventures in the future. Legal, I can’t promise.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The Scottish government has ventured into similarly contentious territory as it tries to find a long-term solution to Scotland's record-breaking prison population.
From BBC โ Sep. 1, 2026
They also ventured farther into space than any humans had ever traveled before, setting a new distance record for human spaceflight.
From Science Daily โ Aug. 24, 2026
Some analysts have ventured to say that diminished demand could keep a lid on oil prices through the rest of the year, even if traffic through the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t fully recover.
From MarketWatch โ Aug. 16, 2026
In it, Anthropic’s Mythos 5 ventured out on the internet and tried to trick two unidentified developers into adding malicious software to their open-source coding project.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Aug. 5, 2026
George’s ancestors had lived in this part of the world for millennia and had been the ones to greet the first French trappers who ventured north from Montreal in the 1600s.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
One of them, “The Scooby-Doo Project,” satirized “The Blair Witch Project” with Scooby and his gang venturing into the woods.
From Los Angeles Times โ Aug. 28, 2026
Founded in 1862 by Adam Opel, the company produced sewing machines and later bicycles, before venturing into car manufacturing in 1899 at its Ruesselsheim site.
From Barron's โ Aug. 16, 2026
Footwear brand Cole Haan is venturing further into travel and lifestyle with its first collection of luggage.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Aug. 6, 2026
You may also experience the discomfort that comes with venturing far afield from what you’ve taken for granted in the U.S.
From MarketWatch โ Jun. 30, 2026
Was that why he had told them about the ticks and made rules against venturing into the woods?
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ยฉ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritageยฎ Idioms Dictionary copyright ยฉ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
