nonprofit
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of nonprofit
Compare meaning
How does nonprofit compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A business or organization is nonprofit if its main purpose isn't making money for its owners. Nonprofit companies usually raise money for charities. You can use the word nonprofit as an adjective or a noun — a nonprofit is an organization that benefits some public good, rather than raising revenue for stockholders or owners. There are educational nonprofits, religious nonprofits, public health nonprofits, and many others. The word's been around since the 1920s, combining non, or "not," with profit, from the Latin root profectus, "advance, increase, success, or progress."
Vocabulary lists containing nonprofit
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: non-
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non-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which was facing closure, will be sold to the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
If confirmed, Warsh has pledged to resign from more than a dozen corporate and nonprofit positions and sell dozens of holdings within 90 days.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Residents reported over 6,700 potholes in January and nearly 5,000 reports were submitted in February and again in March, according to data from the city’s 311 tip line analyzed by the nonprofit newsroom Crosstown L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
Mr. Berg is founder and director of Reciprocal Research, a nonprofit research organization studying AI cognition.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
You could download Netscape for free if you were in education or a nonprofit.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
