being and remaining ready and available for use; "waiting cars and limousines lined the curb"; "found her mother waiting for them"; "an impressive array of food ready and waiting for the guests"; "military forces ready and waiting"
a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one; "finds himself in a most awkward predicament"; "the woeful plight of homeless people"
a venture undertaken without regard to possible loss or injury; "he saw the rewards but not the risks of crime"; "there was a danger he would do the wrong thing"
the probability of being exposed to an infectious agent
the probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurred
expose to a chance of loss or damage; "We risked losing a lot of money in this venture"; "Why risk your life?"; "She laid her job on the line when she told the boss that he was wrong"
the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes; "the casual couplings of adolescents"; "the mating of some species occurs only in the spring"
a mechanical device that serves to connect the ends of adjacent objects