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 Senior Citizens League, an independent nonprofit, puts the figure lower, at 2.8%.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
The second draft law, called the Energy Freedom Act, was produced by the policy nonprofit associated with Hild’s organization.
From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026
“Lenacapavir could be transformative,” says Peter Maybarduk, director of the access to medicines program at the nonprofit organization Public Citizen, “if people can get it.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
If I do return, I would likely seek work in a church, nonprofit, or municipal role.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
Before going to law school, he’d worked in Chicago for three years as a community organizer, earning $12,000 a year from a nonprofit that bound together a coalition of churches.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
