Meanings
- If one takes no risks, one cannot gain (i.e., has no hope of gaining) any benefits.
Near-synonyms: no guts, no glory; no pain, no gain
3 more examples
Noght vēter noght haue spare to speke spare to spede
Nothing venture, nothing have; spare to speak, spare success
1546, John Heywood, A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes in the englishe tongue compacte in a matter concernyng two maner of mariages, The fyrste parte. The leuenth chapiterHer husband was one of those unfortunate men, called speculators. He believed that to gain thousands, thousands must be put in jeopardy—“nothing ventured, nothing gained,” was his rule, and he practiced it to perfection.
1842, E.S.J., “Julia Dayton: Or the power of truth over error”, in Universalist Union, page 609Do not allow the danger of making a mistake to inhibit your initiative to the point of “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It is much healthier to expect to make mistakes, take a few good risks now and then, and take your medicine when you lose.
1944, W. Julian King, The Unwritten Laws of Engineering, page 22Synonyms: no guts, no glory, no pain, no gain
Synonyms & antonyms
proverbIf one takes no risks, one cannot gain (i.e., has no hope of gaining) any benefits.
Origin
Attested since 1546 in a book of English proverbs by John Heywood (see quotation below). Perhaps translated from or influenced by French Qui onques rien n'enprist riens n'achieva (“One who never undertook anything never gained anything”). Though a translation, a similar phrase of "Nothing ventured, nothing have." appears in Sir George Dasent's translation of the Icelandic text "The Saga of the Burnt Njal" (events occurring between 960 and 1020 A.D.), suggesting it may have gone back much further. However, certain translations of Herodotus 7.9 include "if nothing is ventured in life, then nothing is gained". Suggesting either the phrase or something similar stretches to even before 960AD.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
nothing ventured, nothing gained. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nothing%20ventured%2C%20nothing%20gained
“nothing ventured, nothing gained.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nothing%20ventured%2C%20nothing%20gained. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nothing%20ventured%2C%20nothing%20gained.
Source: nothing ventured, nothing gained on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.