Risking

How to spell risking

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce risking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does risking mean?

1. verbExposing someone or something to the possibility of harm, loss, or failure.

Risking in a sentence

• By skipping the inspection, they were risking a costly repair later.

• She kept risking her savings on speculative investments.

Where does risking come from?

Language of origin: French

The base word risk came into English in the early 1600s from the French risque, which itself was borrowed from the Italian risco or rischio, meaning 'danger' or 'hazard'. The deeper origin is debated, but many trace it to the Latin verb resecare, 'to cut off short', a sense that may have shifted through the perils faced by sailors near steep, cut-off cliffs and reefs. Early commercial use was strongly tied to seafaring and marine insurance, where merchants weighed the danger of losing a ship and its cargo. The verb risk grew naturally from the noun, and adding the ordinary -ing ending gives risking, the form used for the ongoing action. Because the word ends in a single short vowel plus a single consonant cluster, the k stays single and no letter is doubled, which is the small spelling point worth fixing in memory.

How the word is built

• risk (to expose to danger)
• -ing (present participle/gerund suffix)