Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - risk

(risks, risking, risked) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If there is a risk of something unpleasant, there is a possibility that it will happen. There is a small risk of brain damage from the procedure... In all the confusion, there’s a serious risk that the main issues will be forgotten. N-VAR: oft N of n, N that 2. If something that you do is a risk, it might have unpleasant or undesirable results. You’re taking a big risk showing this to Kravis... N-COUNT 3. If you say that something or someone is a risk, you mean they are likely to cause harm. It’s being overfat that constitutes a health risk... The restaurant has been refurbished–it was found to be a fire risk... N-COUNT: usu with supp 4. If you are considered a good risk, a bank or shop thinks that it is safe to lend you money or let you have goods without paying for them at the time. Before providing the cash, they will have to decide whether you are a good or bad risk... N-COUNT: supp N 5. If you risk something unpleasant, you do something which might result in that thing happening or affecting you. Those who fail to register risk severe penalties... VERB: V n/-ing 6. If you risk doing something, you do it, even though you know that it might have undesirable consequences. The captain was not willing to risk taking his ship through the straits in such bad weather. VERB: V -ing/n 7. If you risk your life or something else important, you behave in a way that might result in it being lost or harmed. She risked her own life to help a disabled woman... VERB: V n 8. To be at risk means to be in a situation where something unpleasant might happen. Up to 25,000 jobs are still at risk... PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR of n 9. If you do something at the risk of something unpleasant happening, you do it even though you know that the unpleasant thing might happen as a result. At the risk of being repetitive, I will say again that statistics are only a guide... PHRASE: PHR n/-ing 10. If you tell someone that they are doing something at their own risk, you are warning them that, if they are harmed, it will be their own responsibility. Those who wish to come here will do so at their own risk. PHRASE: PHR after v 11. If you run the risk of doing or experiencing something undesirable, you do something knowing that the undesirable thing might happen as a result. The officers had run the risk of being dismissed... PHRASE: V and N inflect 12. to risk your neck: see neck