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risk

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

risk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹɪsk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountable

    The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.

  2. uncountable

    The magnitude of possible loss consequent to a decision or event.

  3. uncountableeconomicsbusiness and engineering

    The potential negative effect of an event, determined by multiplying the likelihood of the event occurring with its magnitude should it occur.

  4. countable

    A possible adverse event or outcome.

  5. countable

    A thing (from the perspective of how likely or unlikely it is to cause an adverse effect).

verb

  1. Take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

  2. transitive

    To incur risk of (an unwanted or negative outcome).

  3. transitive

    To incur risk of harming or jeopardizing.

  4. transitive

    To incur risk as a result of (doing something).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.

Used this way, risk is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use risk

  • “He saw the rewards but not the risks of crime.”noun
  • “We risked losing a lot of money in this venture.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Probability / magnitude

risk premium

Borrower

credit risk

Other combinations

risk managementrisk assessmentrisk factorrelative riskrisk analysishigh risk

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • risk capitalnounCompound term

    Wealth available for investment in new or speculative enterprises.

  • risk of exposurenounCompound term

    The probability of being exposed to an infectious agent.

  • risk of infectionnounCompound term

    The probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurred.

  • risk takernounCompound term

    Someone who risks loss or injury in the hope of gain or excitement.

  • risk arbitragenounCompound term

    Arbitrage involving risk.

  • run a riskverbCompound term

    Take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

take chancesgamblehazardadventureArchaic

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.