nonprofit
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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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non-
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: 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.
I work as a driver and receptionist for a nonprofit, and I’m actually earning more each week than I ever have before.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 8, 2026
One tally by nonprofit groups said 40 percent of confirmed or alleged deals are with African states -- 14 out of 34 countries.
From Barron's • Jul. 7, 2026
The other half would fund research grants for other California-based universities and nonprofit medical research institutions to study potential treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2026
The sum at stake was a hefty one for a nonprofit community ensemble.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 5, 2026
Experts on both sides of the debate worry that compensating patients would lead to profit-seekers inhibiting science by insisting on unrealistic financial agreements or demanding money for tissues used in noncommercial or nonprofit research.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
