Risk is the uncertainty of deviating from expected earnings or outcome. Learn about different types of risk, such as liquidity risk, sovereign risk, insurance risk, etc., and how they affect investments. Definitions of risk range from narrow definitions - risks to people or machinery resulting from hazards - to wide definitions that see risk as any uncertainty of outcome. The diagram at the top of this article shows how risk can be defined in narrow, medium, and broad ways. Risk is all around us - whether you're operating a company or investing in the stock market. But, what actually is risk? And what are the many types and examples of risk? TheStreet breaks it down. In finance, risk refers to the degree of uncertainty and/or potential financial loss inherent in an investment decision. Risk is also defined as volatility.