Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger.
  • noun A factor, thing, element, or course involving uncertain danger; a hazard.
  • noun The danger or probability of loss to an insurer.
  • noun The amount that an insurance company stands to lose.
  • noun The variability of returns from an investment.
  • noun The chance of nonpayment of a debt.
  • noun One considered with respect to the possibility of loss.
  • transitive verb To expose to a chance of loss or damage; hazard. synonym: endanger.
  • transitive verb To incur the risk of.
  • idiom (at risk) In an endangered state, especially from lack of proper care.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To hazard; expose to the chance of injury or loss.
  • To venture upon; take the chances of: as, to risk a surgical operation.
  • Synonyms To peril, jeopard, stake. See risk, n.
  • noun Same as reesk and risp.
  • noun Hazard; danger; peril; exposure to mischance or harm; venture: as, at the risk of one's life; at the risk of contagion. Common in the phrase to run a (the) risk, to incur hazard; take the chance of failure or disaster.
  • noun In com.: The hazard of loss of ship, goods, or other property.
  • noun The degree of hazard or danger upon which the premiums of insurance are calculated.
  • noun Hence, by extension, insurance obligation: as, our company has no risks in that city.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To expose to risk, hazard, or peril; to venture.
  • transitive verb To incur the risk or danger of.
  • noun Hazard; danger; peril; exposure to loss, injury, or destruction.
  • noun (Com.) Hazard of loss; liabillity to loss in property.
  • noun to incur hazard; to encounter danger.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A possible, usually negative, outcome, e.g., a danger.
  • noun The likelihood of a negative outcome.
  • noun engineering, etc. The potential (conventionally negative) impact of an event, determined by combining the likelihood of the event occurring with the impact should it occur.
  • verb transitive To incur risk (to something).
  • verb transitive To incur risk (of something).
  • verb transitive To incur risk (by something).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
  • noun a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury
  • noun the probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurred
  • verb expose to a chance of loss or damage
  • noun the probability of being exposed to an infectious agent
  • noun a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French risque, from Italian risco, rischio, probably from Medieval Greek rizikon, sustenance obtained by a soldier through his own initiative, fortune, from Arabic rizq, sustenance, that which God allots, from Syriac ruziqā, daily bread, from Middle Iranian rōčig, from rōč, day, from Old Iranian *raučah-; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • Read more about the risk factors for SIDS and take a look at the 7 things that reduce your baby's risk  (subscribers only).

    Magazines may mislead parents on SIDS and safe sleeping 2009

  • As for me, a rough calculation of my risk factors showed that I was not at “intermediate risk” for heart disease, and therefore not a good candidate for a CT scan.

    Cholesterol and cognitive decline | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. 2007

  • And the more constant he is in his attendance at the sacred rite, the greater will be his risk; his _risk_, I say; that is, if he neglects to be jealous over himself, to watch himself narrowly, and to condemn and hate in himself the faintest risings of coldness and irreverence; for, of course, if he so acts, the less will be his risk, and the greater will be his security that his heart will not betray him.

    Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII (of 8) John Henry Newman 1845

  • Analysts said production of such vehicles was still small enough that there was little short-term risk from a shortage of rare earths, but this could change quickly.

    Toyota Developing New Cheaper Electric Motor AP 2011

  • Analysts said production of such vehicles was still small enough that there was little short-term risk from a shortage of rare earths, but this could change quickly.

    Toyota Developing New Cheaper Electric Motor AP 2011

  • Analysts said production of such vehicles was still small enough that there was little short-term risk from a shortage of rare earths, but this could change quickly.

    Toyota Developing New Cheaper Electric Motor AP 2011

  • Analysts said production of such vehicles was still small enough that there was little short-term risk from a shortage of rare earths, but this could change quickly.

    Toyota Developing New Cheaper Electric Motor AP 2011

  • Was the phrase "risk of penis amputation" included in the pre-surgery discussion?

    Priya Malhotra: Castration Ethics Priya Malhotra 2011

  • Analysts said production of such vehicles was still small enough that there was little short-term risk from a shortage of rare earths, but this could change quickly.

    Toyota Developing New Cheaper Electric Motor AP 2011

  • Analysts said production of such vehicles was still small enough that there was little short-term risk from a shortage of rare earths, but this could change quickly.

    Toyota Developing New Cheaper Electric Motor AP 2011

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