calculated risk

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A risk that you decide to take after thinking carefully about the possible gains and losses.

   Grammar: Usually used in the singular with 'a' or 'the': take a calculated risk.

   Patterns

   • take a calculated risk
   • a calculated risk that ...
   • it is a calculated risk

   Moving to a new city without a job was a calculated risk, but it worked out well.

   The company took a calculated risk by launching the product before testing was complete.

   Buying the old house was a calculated risk: it was cheap, but the roof needed work.

2. 2nouncountable

   A gamble or uncertain action whose chances of success you have roughly estimated in advance.

   Grammar: Often followed by 'on' or 'in' plus a noun phrase: a calculated risk on the market.

   Patterns

   • a calculated risk on something
   • a calculated risk in doing something

   Investing most of their savings in one stock was a calculated risk on the future of the industry.

   She saw the surgery as a calculated risk worth taking.

Word forms

Common combinations

take a calculated risk

Pilots sometimes take a calculated risk when flying through bad weather.

a calculated risk worth taking

For the young firm, expanding abroad was a calculated risk worth taking.

a calculated risk that pays off

It was a calculated risk that paid off when sales doubled.

weigh a calculated risk

Managers must weigh the calculated risk against the possible reward.

a calculated risk in business

Every calculated risk in business involves weighing data against uncertainty.

Synonyms and how they differ

gamble

'Gamble' suggests a bigger element of luck and less careful thought than a calculated risk.

chance

'Chance' is more general and neutral; it does not imply that you have weighed the odds first.

speculation

'Speculation' is used mainly for financial bets and sounds more technical than a calculated risk.

Opposites

Word family

calculate verb

to work out an amount or result using numbers or reasoning.

calculation noun

the act of working something out carefully, or the result you get.

calculated adjective

planned in advance to achieve a particular effect.

Commonly confused: calculated risk or reckless risk?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “calculated risk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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