adventure

1 of 2

noun

ad·​ven·​ture əd-ˈven-chər 

1

a

: an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks

a book recounting his many bold adventures

b

: the encountering of risks

the spirit of adventure

2

: an exciting or remarkable experience

an adventure in exotic dining

They were looking for adventure.

3

: an enterprise involving financial risk

wanted to pay off her debts before embarking on any new financial adventures

adventure

2 of 2

verb

adventured; adventuring əd-ˈven-ch(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to expose to danger or loss : venture

… those who adventured their persons and lives risked all they had for a slender reward.

—Joseph Conrad

2

: to venture upon (see venture entry 1 sense 2) : try

… the task was always one of great difficulty and art—so much so, that it could seldom be adventured in rough or windy weather.

—Edward Bulwer-Lytton

intransitive verb

1

: to proceed despite risk

… people going away to adventure upon the sea …

—Virginia Woolf

2

: to take the risk

… I would adventure for such merchandise

—William Shakespeare

Synonyms

Noun

• emprise
• experience
• exploit
• gest
• geste
• happening
• time

Verb

• compromise
• endanger
• gamble (with)
• hazard
• imperil
• jeopard
• jeopardize
• menace
• peril
• risk
• venture

Examples of adventure in a Sentence

Noun

The field trip was an adventure for the students.

He told us about his camping adventures.

They were looking for adventure.

Verb

adventured all his savings in a very risky investment scheme

if I had to adventure a guess, I'd say she's about 35

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As was the case with the season premiere, there’s an unfortunate and inevitable imbalance in this week’s episode between the scenes of Juliette’s adventures in Silo 17 and, well, everything else. —Noel Murray, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2024

Pull a hot air balloon, and you’re destined to live a life of adventure and travel. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 29 Nov. 2024

Verb

Shaffer regularly heads out into the desert with her family for camping and off-roading trips, while Lando spends a lot of time adventuring with different groups on different terrains, testing the limits of what her Subaru can do. —Kristin Shaw, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024

Teens can play everything from sports games to adventure. —Judy Koutsky, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English aventure, adventure (with -d- restored from Latin) "fortune, chance, occurrence, risk, enterprise, wonder," borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Vulgar Latin *adventūra "what will happen," going back to Latin, feminine singular (originally neuter plural) of adventūrus, future participle of advenīre "to arrive at, reach, arise, develop" — more at advent

Verb

alteration (with -d- restored from Latin) of Middle English aventuren, auntren "to happen, expose to risk, take a chance," borrowed from Anglo-French aventurer, verb derivative of aventure "chance, occurrence, risk" — more at adventure entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1529, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Phrases Containing adventure

• adventure playground

Kids Definition

adventure

1 of 2 noun

ad·​ven·​ture əd-ˈven-chər 

1

: an action involving unknown risks or dangers

2

: the encountering of risks

the spirit of adventure

3

: an unusual or exciting experience

the field trip was an adventure

adventure

2 of 2 verb

adventured; adventuring

-ˈvench-(ə-)riŋ

1

: risk entry 2 sense 1, venture

2

: to venture upon

explorers adventuring the wilderness