Encourage a risk (4)
I believe the answer is:
abet
'encourage' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'a risk' is the wordplay.
'risk' becomes 'bet'.
'a'+'bet'='ABET'
(Other definitions for abet that I've seen before include "Give aid to" , "Egg on" , "Help a criminal" , "Encourage or assist (someone) to commit crime" , "Make good" .)