Adjacent Words

Risk definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RISK, n.
1. Hazard; danger; peril; exposure to harm. He, at the risk of his life, saved a drowning man.
2. In commerce, the hazard of loss, either of ship, goods or other property. Hence, risk signifies also the degree of hazard or danger; for the premiums of insurance are calculated upon the risk. The underwriters now take risks at a low premium.
To run a risk, is to incur hazard; to encounter danger.
RISK, v.t.
1. To hazard; to endanger; to expose to injury or loss; as, to risk goods on board of a ship; to risk one's person in battle; to risk one's fame by a publication; to risk life in defense of rights.
2. To venture; to dare to undertake; as, to risk a battle or combat.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune; "drinking alcohol is a health hazard" [syn: hazard, jeopardy, peril, risk, endangerment]
2: a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury; "he saw the rewards but not the risks of crime"; "there was a danger he would do the wrong thing" [syn: risk, peril, danger]
3: the probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurred [syn: risk, risk of infection]
4: the probability of being exposed to an infectious agent [syn: risk, risk of exposure] v
1: expose to a chance of loss or damage; "We risked losing a lot of money in this venture"; "Why risk your life?"; "She laid her job on the line when she told the boss that he was wrong" [syn: risk, put on the line, lay on the line]
2: take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome; "When you buy these stocks you are gambling" [syn: gamble, chance, risk, hazard, take chances, adventure, run a risk, take a chance]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: French risque, from Italian risco Date: circa 1661 1. possibility of loss or injury ; peril 2. someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard 3. a. the chance of loss or the perils to the subject matter of an insurance contract; also the degree of probability of such loss b. a person or thing that is a specified hazard to an insurer <a poor risk for insurance> c. an insurance hazard from a specified cause or source <war risk> 4. the chance that an investment (as a stock or commodity) will lose value • riskless adjective II. transitive verb Date: circa 1687 1. to expose to hazard or danger <risked her life> 2. to incur the risk or danger of <risked breaking his neck> • risker noun

Britannica Concise

s and finance, an allowance for the hazard (risk) in an investment or loan. Default risk refers to the chance that a borrower will not repay a loan. If a banker believes that a borrower may not repay a loan, the banker will charge the true interest plus a premium for the default risk, the premium depending on the degree of presumed risk. All stock investment carried an implicit risk since there is no guarantee of return on investment. Trading or variability risk is the amount that the return may vary, up or down, from the expected return on investment.(Italian: "Resurgence") 19th-cent. movement for Italian unification. Reforms introduced by France into its Italian states in the Napoleonic period remained after the states were r

U.S. Military Dictionary

1. Probability and severity of loss linked to hazards. 2. See degree of risk. See also hazard; risk management. (JP 3-33)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a chance or possibility of danger, loss, injury, or other adverse consequences (a health risk; a risk of fire). 2 a person or thing causing a risk or regarded in relation to risk (is a poor risk). --v.tr. 1 expose to risk. 2 accept the chance of (could not risk getting wet). 3 venture on. Phrases and idioms: at risk exposed to danger. at one's (own) risk accepting responsibility, agreeing to make no claims. at the risk of with the possibility of (an adverse consequence). put at risk expose to danger. risk capital money put up for speculative business investment. risk one's neck put one's own life in danger. run a (or the) risk (often foll. by of) expose oneself to danger or loss etc. take (or run) a risk chance the possibility of danger etc. Etymology: F risque, risquer f. It. risco danger, riscare run into danger

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Risk Risk, n. [F. risque; cf. It. risco, risico, rischio, Pg. risco, Sp. riesgo, and also Sp. risco a steep rock; all probably fr. L. resceare to cut off; pref. re- re- + secare to cut; -- the word having been probably first used among sailors. See Section.] 1. Hazard; danger; peril; exposure to loss, injury, or destruction. The imminent and constant risk of assassination, a risk which has shaken very strong nerves. --Macaulay. 2. (Com.) Hazard of loss; liabillity to loss in property. To run a risk, to incur hazard; to encounter danger. Syn: Danger; hazard; peril; jeopardy; exposure. See Danger.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Risk Risk, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Risked; p. pr. & vb. n. Risking.] [CF. F. risquer. See Risk, n.] 1. To expose to risk, hazard, or peril; to venture; as, to risk goods on board of a ship; to risk one's person in battle; to risk one's fame by a publication. 2. To incur the risk or danger of; as, to risk a battle. Syn: To hazard; peril; endanger; jeopard.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(risks, risking, risked) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If there is a risk of something unpleasant, there is a possibility that it will happen. There is a small risk of brain damage from the procedure... In all the confusion, there's a serious risk that the main issues will be forgotten. N-VAR: oft N of n, N that 2. If something that you do is a risk, it might have unpleasant or undesirable results. You're taking a big risk showing this to Kravis... N-COUNT 3. If you say that something or someone is a risk, you mean they are likely to cause harm. It's being overfat that constitutes a health risk... The restaurant has been refurbished–it was found to be a fire risk... N-COUNT: usu with supp 4. If you are considered a good risk, a bank or shop thinks that it is safe to lend you money or let you have goods without paying for them at the time. Before providing the cash, they will have to decide whether you are a good or bad risk... N-COUNT: supp N 5. If you risk something unpleasant, you do something which might result in that thing happening or affecting you. Those who fail to register risk severe penalties... VERB: V n/-ing 6. If you risk doing something, you do it, even though you know that it might have undesirable consequences. The captain was not willing to risk taking his ship through the straits in such bad weather. VERB: V -ing/n 7. If you risk your life or something else important, you behave in a way that might result in it being lost or harmed. She risked her own life to help a disabled woman... VERB: V n 8. To be at risk means to be in a situation where something unpleasant might happen. Up to 25,000 jobs are still at risk... PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR of n 9. If you do something at the risk of something unpleasant happening, you do it even though you know that the unpleasant thing might happen as a result. At the risk of being repetitive, I will say again that statistics are only a guide... PHRASE: PHR n/-ing 10. If you tell someone that they are doing something at their own risk, you are warning them that, if they are harmed, it will be their own responsibility. Those who wish to come here will do so at their own risk. PHRASE: PHR after v 11. If you run the risk of doing or experiencing something undesirable, you do something knowing that the undesirable thing might happen as a result. The officers had run the risk of being dismissed... PHRASE: V and N inflect 12. to risk your neck: see neck

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Danger, hazard, jeopardy, peril, exposure to harm. II. v. a. 1. Hazard, peril, endanger, jeopard, jeopardize, put in peril, put to hazard, expose to danger. 2. Venture, dare to undertake.

Moby Thesaurus

accident, accidentality, actuarial calculation, admit of, adventitiousness, adventure, be liable, be subjected to, beard, bet, bid fair to, brave, break, breakers ahead, buy in, buy into, calculated risk, cardhouse, casualness, cause for alarm, chance, chance it, compromise, confront, court destruction, crisis, danger, dangerous ground, dare, defy, defy danger, destiny, desultoriness, emergency, encounter, encounter danger, endanger, endangerment, expose, exposure, face, face up to, fate, financier, flier, flukiness, forget the odds, fortuitousness, fortuity, fortune, gamble, gamble on, gamble with, gaping chasm, gathering clouds, good fortune, good luck, hap, happenstance, happy chance, hazard, heedless hap, house of cards, how they fall, imperil, imperilment, incur danger, indeterminacy, indeterminateness, infirmity, insecurity, insolidity, instability, insubstantiality, invest, invest in, investment, jeopard, jeopardize, jeopardy, law of averages, lay open, lay out money, liability, liableness, lie under, lot, luck, make an investment, make book, meet, menace, moira, openness, opportunity, pass, peril, perilousness, pinch, place, play, play with fire, plight, plow back into, plunge, precariousness, predicament, predict, prime investment, principle of indeterminacy, probability, problematicness, prognosticate, put, put in danger, put in jeopardy, quicksand, random sample, reinvest, rely on fortune, riskiness, rocks ahead, run a chance, run of luck, run the chance, run the risk, serendipity, set at hazard, shakiness, shiftiness, shiftingness, sink, sink money in, slipperiness, speculate, speculation, speculativeness, stand a chance, stand fair to, stand to gain, stand to lose, statistical probability, storm clouds, strait, take a chance, take a flier, take chances, tempt Providence, tempt fortune, the breaks, theory of probability, thin ice, threat, ticklishness, treacherousness, treachery, trust to chance, try the chance, unauthenticity, unauthoritativeness, uncertainty, uncertainty principle, undependability, unfaithworthiness, unreliability, unsolidity, unsoundness, unsteadfastness, unsteadiness, unsubstantiality, unsureness, untrustworthiness, venture, wager, whatever comes