risk

English

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risk

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• risque (archaic)

Etymology

From earlier risque, from Middle French risque, from Old Italian risco (“risk”) (modern Italian rischio) and rischiare (“to run into danger”). Displaced native Old English pleoh (“risk”) and plēon (“to risk”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪsk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophones: RISC, risque (rare dialect)
• Rhymes: -ɪsk

Noun

risk (countable and uncountable, plural risks)

1. (uncountable) The probability of a negative outcome to a decision or event.

   There is risk of being brutalized, arrested, imprisoned and tortured, all because I want you to know the truth about this matter.

   • 1994, S. I. Bhuiyan, On-farm Reservoir Systems for Rainfed Ricelands‎, page 36:

     What crop(s) to plant, how much area to devote to each crop, and how much risk to take with respect to rainfall during the season are some of the decisions that must be made.

   • 2006, Trever Ramsey on BBC News website, Exercise 'cuts skin cancer risk' read at on 14 May 2006
   • 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:

     Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you.
     Taking regular exercise, coupled with a healthy diet, reduced the risk of several types of cancer.

   • 2012 January, Stephen Ledoux, “Behaviorism at 100”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 60:

     Becoming more aware of the progress that scientists have made on behavioral fronts can reduce the risk that other natural scientists will resort to mystical agential accounts when they exceed the limits of their own disciplinary training.

2. (uncountable) The magnitude of possible loss consequent to a decision or event.
   • 2004 April 23, “American Families at Risk”, in The American Prospect‎:

     Will they find the prospect of greater risk a cause for concern, rather than a gift from the right?

   • 2012 December 12, “Hekia Parata will not appeal Salisbury decision”, in Manawatu Standard:

     The decision was also unlawful in disregarding the prospect of greater risk of sexual or physical abuse to girls at a co-educational residential school

   • 2006, R. Packer, The Politics of BSE‎, page 196:

     SEAC acknowledged that their recommendation was a somewhat uneasy compromise between the desire to protect the public from a small chance of a big risk and the desire not to ruin an industry, probably unnecessarily.

3. (uncountable, economics, business and engineering) The potential negative effect of an event, determined by multiplying the likelihood of the event occurring with its magnitude should it occur.
   • 2002, Decisioneering Inc website, What is risk? read at on 14 May 2006

     If there is a 25% chance of running over schedule, costing you a $100 out of your own pocket, that might be a risk you are willing to take. But if you have a 5% chance of running overschedule, knowing that there is a $10,000 penalty, you might be less willing to take that risk.

4. (countable) A possible adverse event or outcome.

   Synonyms: danger, peril, hazard

   1. (insurance) A type of adverse event covered under an insurance policy.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 7, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     the imminent and constant risk of assassination, a risk which has shaken very strong nerves

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

   That man is going to be a big risk once he's out of prison.

   Those stairs are a major risk.

   • 2006, BBC News website, Farmers warned over skin cancer read at on 14 May 2006

     There was also a "degree of complacency" that the weather in the country was not good enough to present a health risk.

   1. (banking, finance) A borrower (such as a mortgage-holder or person with a credit card).

      A good credit rating indicates the customer is a desirable risk.

   2. (finance) A financial product (typically an investment).

      Subprime mortgages are poor risks; especially for a pension scheme.

   3. (insurance) An entity insured by an insurer.

Usage notes

When referring to some possible cause of an adverse effect as "a risk", the default position is that one is referring to how likely it is to cause an adverse effect. Such use is qualified with adjectives that refer to magnitude, such as "major", "large" or "tiny". However, adjectives that refer to quality (such as "good" or "undesirable") indicate that one is referring to how unlikely the adverse effect is, and this usage is invariably restricted to monetary contexts. On the other hand, the former sense may be used in any context (including monetary risks).

Hyponyms

• (formal business and engineering): variance, standard deviation, downside beta

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

risk (third-person singular simple present risks, present participle risking, simple past and past participle risked)

1. (transitive) To incur risk of (an unwanted or negative outcome).
   • 2006, Transportation Alternatives website, Rail delays as thieves cut power read at on 14 May 2006

     These people are putting themselves in danger by physically being on or near to the railway lines and risking serious injury.

2. (transitive) To incur risk of harming or jeopardizing.
   • 2006, BBC Sport website, Beckham wary over Rooney comeback read at on 14 May 2006

     England captain David Beckham has warned Wayne Rooney not to risk his long-term future by rushing his return from injury.

3. (transitive) To incur risk as a result of (doing something).
   • 1999, BBC News website, Volunteer of the Month: Andrew Hay McConnell read at on 14 May 2006

     After coming to New York, I decided to risk cycling again.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• roll the dice, take a chance

Further reading

• Risk in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
• “risk”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• risk in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• “risk”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• risk on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Kris, irks, kirs, kris, riks

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: risk
• Rhymes: -ɪsk

Noun

risk m inan

1. (informal) risk

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• risk in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• risk in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• risk in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from French risque.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪsk

Noun

risk c

1. risk

Declension

Derived terms

• rasrisk
• på egen risk
• riskfaktor
• riskfylld
• riskkapitalist
• riskvillig
• säkerhetsrisk

Related terms

• riskabel

Anagrams

• kris, riks-, skri

Turkish

Etymology

From French risque. Doublet of riziko.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /risc/

Noun

risk (definite accusative riski, plural riskler)

1. risk (all senses)

Declension