What does adventure mean?

Definitions for adventure
ædˈvɛn tʃərad·ven·ture

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word adventure.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. adventure, escapade, risky venture, dangerous undertakingverb

    a wild and exciting undertaking (not necessarily lawful)

  2. gamble, chance, risk, hazard, take chances, adventure, run a risk, take a chanceverb

    take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome

    "When you buy these stocks you are gambling"

  3. venture, hazard, adventure, stake, jeopardizeverb

    put at risk

    "I will stake my good reputation for this"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. ADVENTUREnoun

    Etymology: French.

    The general summoned three castles that were near: one desperate of succour, and not desirous to dispute the defence, presently yielded; but two stood upon their adventure. John Hayward.

    Blows flew at all adventures, wounds and deaths given and taken unexpected; many scarce knowing their enemies from their friends. John Hayward.

    Where the mind does not perceive this probable connection, there men’s opinions are the effects of chance and hazard, of a mind floating at all adventures, without choice and without direction. John Locke.

    For I must love, and am resolv’d, to try
    My fate, or, failing in th’ adventure, die. John Dryden, Fables.

  2. To Adventureverb

    Etymology: adventurer, Fr.

    Be not angry,
    Most mighty princess, that I have adventur’d
    To try your taking of a false report. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.

    The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground, for delicateness and tenderness. Deuter. xxviii. 26.

    For my father fought for you, and adventured his life for, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian. Judges, ix. 17.

Wikipedia

  1. Adventure

    An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sports. Adventures are often undertaken to create psychological arousal or in order to achieve a greater goal, such as the pursuit of knowledge that can only be obtained by such activities.

ChatGPT

  1. adventure

    Adventure can be generally defined as an exciting, daring, or thrilling experience that typically involves exploring unknown or challenging situations, often with an element of risk or uncertainty. It is characterized by the pursuit of new and novel experiences, discovering unfamiliar places, undertaking daring activities, and facing unexpected obstacles or dangers. Adventure is often associated with a sense of excitement, adrenaline, and the idea of stepping outside one's comfort zone in order to embrace new opportunities and personal growth.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Adventurenoun

    that which happens without design; chance; hazard; hap; hence, chance of danger or loss

  2. Adventurenoun

    risk; danger; peril

  3. Adventurenoun

    the encountering of risks; hazardous and striking enterprise; a bold undertaking, in which hazards are to be encountered, and the issue is staked upon unforeseen events; a daring feat

  4. Adventurenoun

    a remarkable occurrence; a striking event; a stirring incident; as, the adventures of one's life

  5. Adventurenoun

    a mercantile or speculative enterprise of hazard; a venture; a shipment by a merchant on his own account

  6. Adventurenoun

    to risk, or hazard; jeopard; to venture

  7. Adventurenoun

    to venture upon; to run the risk of; to dare

  8. Adventureverb

    to try the chance; to take the risk

  9. Etymology: [OE. aventuren, auntren, F. aventurer, fr. aventure. See Adventure, n.]

Wikidata

  1. Adventure

    An adventure is an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. Adventures may be activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing or participating in extreme sports. The term also broadly refers to any enterprise that is potentially fraught with physical, financial or psychological risk, such as a business venture, a love affair, or other major life undertakings. Adventurous experiences create psychological and physiological arousal, which can be interpreted as negative or positive, and which can be detrimental as stated by the Yerkes-Dodson law. For some people, adventure becomes a major pursuit in and of itself. According to adventurer André Malraux, in his La Condition Humaine, "If a man is not ready to risk his life, where is his dignity?". Similarly, Helen Keller stated that "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Outdoor adventurous activities are typically undertaken for the purposes of recreation or excitement: examples are adventure racing and adventure tourism. Adventurous activities can also lead to gains in knowledge, such as those undertaken by explorers and pioneers. Adventure education intentionally uses challenging experiences for learning.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Adventure

    ad-vent′ūr, n. a risk or chance: a remarkable incident: an enterprise: trial of the issue: risk: a commercial speculation: the spirit of enterprise.—v.i. to attempt or dare.—v.t. to risk or hazard: (refl.) to venture.—v.i. to risk one's self (with on, into, upon): to dare, go so far as to.—n. Advent′urer, one who engages in hazardous enterprises: a soldier of fortune, or speculator: one who pushes his fortune by equivocal means, as false pretences, &c.:—fem. Advent′uress.—adjs. Advent′urous, Advent′uresome, enterprising: ready to incur risk.—adv. Advent′urously.—n. Advent′urousness. [O. Fr.—L. adventurus, about to happen, fut. perf. of advenīre. See Advent.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. adventure

    An enterprise in which something is left to hazard.--A bill of adventure is one signed by the merchant, by which he takes the chances of the voyage.

Editors Contribution

  1. adventure

    An experience, journey or travel to experience a specific existence or form of life.

    Life is an adventure. The couple went on an adventure holiday to try mountain climbing, abseiling and snorkeling.


    Submitted by MaryC on September 1, 2015  

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'adventure' in Nouns Frequency: #1812

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce adventure?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of adventure in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of adventure in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of adventure in a Sentence

  1. Comedian Jim Gaffigan:

    It's going to be an adventure, but the energy feels electric here.

  2. Lori Garcia:

    Oh, isn't this exciting, it's a new adventure, it's a new school, new people, but I do have my concerns.

  3. Sima Auntie:

    It's difficult to sort of convince people who are very private about a process and private about their lives to sort of go through it with cameras on for a dating show, but there were some people who were up for the adventure and they were the ones who were more keen to work with us.

  4. Dominique Barjot:

    It can't be an easy decision. It would roughly be back to the group as inherited from his father. Martin Bouygues' big adventure being mobile phone.

  5. William Gordon:

    I believe that all of us have the capacity for one adventure inside us, but great adventure is facing responsibility day after day.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

adventure#1#2310#10000

Translations for adventure

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"adventure." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 8 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/adventure>.

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    either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent
    A tenebrous
    B commensal
    C sesquipedalian
    D valetudinarian

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