Risk Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of risk ; 1 · possibility of loss or injury : peril ; 2 · someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard ; 4 · the chance that an investment (such ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut risk noun SaveWord \ˈrisk \ Definitionofrisk (Entry1of2) 1 :possibilityoflossorinjury:peril 2 :someoneorsomethingthatcreatesorsuggestsahazard 3a :thechanceoflossortheperilstothesubjectmatterofaninsurancecontract also :thedegreeofprobabilityofsuchloss b :apersonorthingthatisaspecifiedhazardtoaninsurer c :aninsurancehazardfromaspecifiedcauseorsource warrisk 4 :thechancethataninvestment(suchasastockorcommodity)willlosevalue atrisk :inastateorconditionmarkedbyahighlevelofriskorsusceptibility patientsatriskofinfection risk verb risked;risking;risks Definitionofrisk (Entry2of2) transitiveverb 1 :toexposetohazardordanger riskedherlife 2 :toincurtheriskordangerof riskedbreakinghisneck OtherWordsfromrisk Synonyms MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingrisk LearnMoreAboutrisk OtherWordsfromrisk Noun riskless \ ˈrisk-​ləs \ adjective Verb risker noun Synonymsforrisk Synonyms:Noun danger, hazard, imminence, menace, peril, pitfall, threat, trouble Synonyms:Verb adventure, chance, gamble(on), hazard, tempt, venture VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofriskinaSentence Noun Iprefernottoexposemymoneytotoomuchrisk. Thedegreeofriskisminimal. Allinvestmentshaveanelementofrisk. Thetripdidn'tseemlikemuchofarisk. I'mawareoftherisksassociatedwiththistreatment. Thereisariskofliverdamagewiththismedication. Wearingaseatbeltgreatlyreducestheriskofinjuryordeathinacaraccident. Wefeelthatthisproductpresentsasignificantrisktopublichealth. Tome,skydivingisnotworththerisk. Smokingisarisktoyourlungs. Verb Sheriskedherlifetosaveherchildren. Heriskedallhismoneyonstartinghisownbusiness. Heriskedbreakinghisneck. She'sriskingbeingconsideredtoosentimental. Thecountryriskedawar. bravepeoplewhoriskedbeingkilledtohelpothers I'mnotwillingtoriskgettinglost.I'mgoingtobuyamap. Thecompanyisriskingthelossofmillionsofdollars. It'snotwisetorisktravelingsosoonaftersurgery. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Inthepast,GermanyalsoreceivedalotofflakforseeminglytakingforevertocertifytheconstructionoftheTeslafactory,whichhadbeenbuiltattheriskofbeingtornstraightbackdownagainshouldMuskfailtoreceivefinalapproval. — ChristiaanHetzner,Fortune,22Mar.2022 Buttransplantpatientsareathighriskofinfectionthroughouttheprocess. — DhruvKhullar,TheNewYorker,22Mar.2022 Hosoidoesn’tbelievethatsoccerisatriskoflosingsignificantfansanytimesoonduetoitsuptickinpredictability. — SarahWells,PopularMechanics,22Mar.2022 ButaftertwodecadesofdroughtanddiminishingsnowpacksontheColoradoPlateau,thelakelevelis175feetbelowfullandremainsatriskoffallingtoapointwhereGlenCanyonDam’shydropowerturbinescannolongergenerateelectricity. — BrianMaffly,TheSaltLakeTribune,22Mar.2022 TheTreasurer'sOfficehasalistofpropertiesatriskofforeclosure. — NushratRahman,DetroitFreePress,21Mar.2022 Morethan30millionpeopleareatriskofseverestormscapableofproducingatornadothroughTuesday. — JudsonJones,CNN,21Mar.2022 Buttheireconomiesandbudgets—alreadystrainedbythepandemicandhighenergycosts—arenowatriskofbucklingunderthecostoffood,economistssaid. — NewYorkTimes,20Mar.2022 Thestudio’sthreeadjoiningrooms,partitionedbyplexiglass,enabledhimtoisolateoldermusicianswhowereatgreaterriskofgettingCOVID. — SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,20Mar.2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Similarly,62%inthePewsurveyopposetakingmilitaryactionsthatwouldriskanuclearconflictwithRussia. — ArielEdwards-levy,CNN,18Mar.2022 ThePentagonhasshutdownaPolishproposalforprovidingUkrainewithMiGfighterjets,sayingsuchatransferwouldriskescalatingthewar. — IrisSamuels,AnchorageDailyNews,17Mar.2022 AfterameetingofNorthAtlanticTreatyOrganizationdefenseministersinBrussels,thealliance’ssecretarygeneral,JensStoltenberg,saidano-flyzonewouldrisksparkingawiderwar. — LosAngelesTimes,16Mar.2022 PlentyofobserversbelievePutinwouldnotriskevenalow-gradenuclearattack. — WashingtonPost,15Mar.2022 OfficialssofarhavedeemedUkraine'sappealsforadditionalfighterjets,aswellasrequeststoimposeano-flyzone,asmovesthatwouldriskdirectconflictwithRussia. — NBCNews,9Mar.2022 TheWestsofarhasalsorefusedUkrainianPresidentVolodymyrZelensky’spleastoimposeano-flyzoneoverUkrainianterritory,astepthatwouldalsoriskadirectconfrontationbetweenWesternandRussianforcesthatcouldseriouslyescalate. — StephenFidler,WSJ,9Mar.2022 ThePentagononWednesday,fortheseconddayinarow,rejectedaplanbyPolandtoprovideUkrainewithitsSoviet-erawarplanesthroughU.S.hands,sayingtheproposalwouldriskwiderwarbetweenRussiaandNATO. — ConorFinnegan,ABCNews,9Mar.2022 Moscowwouldtakethatasadeclarationofwar,whichwouldriskanuclearexchange. — SaoirseGowan,TheWeek,8Mar.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'risk.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContainingrisk assignedrisk atone'sownrisk atrisk attheriskof(doingsomething) badcreditrisk extremerisklaw extremeriskprotectionorder goodcreditrisk high-risk low-risk riskcapital riskfactor riskit risklifeandlimb riskone'slife riskone'sneck risk-taker risk-taking runarisk runtheriskof securityrisk systemicrisk takearisk SeeMore assignedrisk atone'sownrisk atrisk attheriskof(doingsomething) badcreditrisk extremerisklaw extremeriskprotectionorder goodcreditrisk high-risk low-risk riskcapital riskfactor riskit risklifeandlimb riskone'slife riskone'sneck risk-taker risk-taking runarisk runtheriskof securityrisk systemicrisk takearisk SeeMore FirstKnownUseofrisk Noun 1655,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1Verb 1660,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforrisk Noun Frenchrisque,fromItalianrisco LearnMoreAboutrisk Sharerisk PosttheDefinitionofrisktoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofriskonTwitter TimeTravelerforrisk Thefirstknownuseofriskwas in1655 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear DictionaryEntriesNearrisk risingwood risk riskcapital SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforrisk LastUpdated 24Mar2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Risk.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/risk.Accessed31Mar.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforrisk risk noun \ˈrisk \ KidsDefinitionofrisk (Entry1of2) 1 :possibilityoflossorinjury Thisadventureinvolvesrisks. 2 :somethingorsomeonethatmaycauselossorinjury Smokingisahealthrisk. risk verb risked;risking KidsDefinitionofrisk (Entry2of2) 1 :toexposetodanger Heriskedhislifetosavethechildren. 2 :totaketheriskordangerof I'mnotwillingtoriskhurtingmyself. risk noun \ˈrisk \ Medical Definitionofrisk 1 :possibilityofloss,injury,disease,ordeath hypertensionincreasestheriskofstroke 2 :apersonconsideredintermsofthepossiblebadeffectsofaparticularcourseoftreatment apoorsurgicalrisk atrisk :inastateorconditionmarkedbyahighlevelofriskorsusceptibility patientsatriskofdevelopinginfections risk noun Legal Definitionofrisk 1a :possibilityoflossorinjury b :liabilityforlossorinjuryifitoccurs theriskoflosspassestothebuyerwhenthegoodsaredulydeliveredtothecarrier—UniformCommercialCodetheriskofpersonalinjuryandpropertydamageshouldbeplacedwiththemanufacturerratherthantheconsumer—Case&Comment 2a :thechanceoflosstothesubjectmatterofaninsurancecontract:uncertaintywithregardtoloss also :thedegreeofprobabilityofsuchloss—compareperil b :apersonorthingthatisaspecifiedhazardtoaninsurer apoorriskforinsurance c :aninsurancehazardfromaspecifiedcauseorsource awarrisk OtherWordsfromrisk riskless adjective MorefromMerriam-Websteronrisk Nglish:TranslationofriskforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofriskforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutrisk WORDOFTHEDAY malleable SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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