venture

venture — noun

1. a new project or business activity that someone begins, knowing that it might lo

1.nounB1
Definition

a new project or business activity that someone begins, knowing that it might lose money or fail rather than succeed

Example

Brian and his partners started a small online store — their first business venture together.

business venture — common collocation

The tech venture raised over a million dollars from investors in the first year.

tech venture — sector-specific use

Common collocations
  • new venture
  • business venture
  • joint venture
  • profitable venture
  • failed venture
Synonyms
  • enterprise

    suggests a larger, more established organization; less focus on risk

  • project

    broader term; does not necessarily imply financial risk

  • undertaking

    formal; emphasises the effort and seriousness of the task

Grammar Patterns

[adjective] + venture

venture + to-infinitive

Usage Note

Frequently paired with adjectives that indicate the level of risk: risky, profitable, successful, failed. The fixed phrase joint venture refers to a commercial project shared by two or more companies.

Common Mistakes

We started a new venture company.
We started a new venture.
'venture' already includes the idea of a company or project; adding 'company' is redundant.

venture — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Venture, enterprise, undertaking, project, and initiative all describe a planned activity, but venture uniquely emphasises financial risk and uncertainty. Enterprise suggests a larger, more established organisation — you buy into an enterprise, you launch a venture. Undertaking is formal and highlights the effort or responsibility involved (a massive undertaking). Project is the most neutral and concrete — it has clear goals, a timeline, and often a team, without necessarily implying risk. Initiative focuses on the proactive, leadership-driven start of something new (a community initiative). Use venture when the possibility of failure or loss is part of the story: 'Their restaurant venture lost money,' not 'Their restaurant project lost money.'

enterprise ↗undertaking ↗project ↗initiative ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • joint venture

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Venture comes from the Latin word 'ventūra,' meaning 'things that will come,' from the verb 'venīre' (to come). It moved into Old French as 'venture' (chance, fortune) and then into Middle English. The original sense was simply 'chance' or 'luck' — something that comes your way. Over time, the word shifted to refer to an action taken despite uncertainty. The phrase 'at a venture' (at random) was common in early English, and from there 'venture' grew into both the noun for a risky business activity and the verb for daring to go or speak despite the risk.