Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

gainful

American  
[geyn-fuhl] / ˈgeɪn fəl /

adjective

  1. profitable; lucrative.

    gainful employment.
gainful British  
/ ˈɡeɪnfʊl /

adjective

  1. profitable; lucrative

    gainful employment
"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

Other Word Forms

  • gainfully adverb
  • gainfulness noun
  • ungainful adjective
  • ungainfully adverb

Etymology

Origin of gainful

First recorded in 1545–55; gain 1 + -ful

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.