fortune

[fawr-chuhn]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fortune ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

position in life as determined by wealth: to make one's fortune.

wealth or riches: to lose a small fortune in bad investments.

great wealth; ample stock of money, property, and the like: to be worth a fortune.

chance; luck: They each had the bad fortune to marry the wrong person.

fortunes. things that happen or are to happen to a person in his or her life.

fate; lot; destiny: whatever my fortune may be.

(initial capital letter) chance personified, commonly regarded as a mythical being distributing arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of life: Perhaps Fortune will smile on our venture.

good luck; success; prosperity: a family blessed by fortune.

Archaic. a wealthy woman; an heiress.

verb (used with object), for·tuned, for·tun·ing.

Archaic. to endow (someone or something) with a fortune.

verb (used without object), for·tuned, for·tun·ing.

Archaic. to chance or happen; come by chance.

Idioms

tell someone's fortune, to profess to inform someone of future events in his or her own life; foretell.

Origin of fortune

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin fortūna chance, luck, fortune, derivative of fort- (stem of fors) chance

Related formsfor·tune·less, adjective

Synonyms for fortune

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fortune ON THESAURUS.COM

4. fate, destiny, providence; kismet, karma. 7. Moira; Lady Luck.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for fortune

prosperity, substance, estate, inheritance, treasure, riches, opulence, portion, capital, property, affluence, worth, resources, fortuity, destiny, kismet, providence, life, star, expectation

Examples from the Web for fortune

Contemporary Examples of fortune

Stanley Richards, Senior Vice President of the Fortune Society, gave a tour along with a few residents.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside
Justin Rohrlich
January 3, 2015
The building used to be an all-girls school, and when it was initially purchased by Fortune it was dilapidated.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside
Justin Rohrlich
January 3, 2015
“I suppose she'll want a fortune as well,” he says, looking at me as if I were Liv Ullmann's agent.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
The city became a Mecca for hordes of hipsters and creative types as well as young people seeking their fortune in finance.
Eric Garner Was Just a Number to Them
Michael Daly
December 5, 2014
According to lore, 145 of these original soldiers of fortune either fled battle or were captured and settled in the area.
The Chinese Town Descended From Romans?
Nina Strochlic
December 4, 2014

Historical Examples of fortune

"It's like starting West again to make our fortune," said Uncle Peter.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Avice Milbrey had the fortune to witness one of these bed-time causeries.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Almost every Barbarian at the table had made his own fortune.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
He went dazedly in to him,—and was awakened from the dream that he had been losing a fortune in his sleep.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Meanwhile, fortune had improved with Mr. Davis, the superintendent of the factory.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for fortune

fortune

noun

an amount of wealth or material prosperity, esp, when unqualified, a great amount

small fortune a large sum of money

a power or force, often personalized, regarded as being responsible for human affairs; chance

luck, esp when favourable

(often plural) a person's lot or destiny

verb

archaic

(tr)to endow with great wealth
(intr)to happen by chance

Derived Formsfortuneless, adjective

Word Origin for fortune

C13: from Old French, from Latin fortūna, from fors chance

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fortune

c.1300, "chance, luck as a force in human affairs," from Old French fortune "lot, good fortune, misfortune" (12c.), from Latin fortuna "chance, fate, good luck," from fors (genitive fortis) "chance, luck," possibly from PIE *bhrtu- and related to base *bher- (1) "to carry" (see infer).

Often personified as a goddess; her wheel betokens vicissitude. Sense of "owned wealth" first found in Spenser; probably it evolved from senses of "one's condition or standing in life," hence "position as determined by wealth," then "wealth" itself. Soldier of fortune first attested 1660s. Fortune 500 "most profitable American companies" is 1955, from the list published annually in "Fortune" magazine.

Idioms and Phrases with fortune

fortune

see make a fortune.