profitable
Americanadjective
-
yielding profit; remunerative.
a profitable deal.
-
beneficial or useful.
- Synonyms:
- helpful, valuable, advantageous
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonprofitability noun
- nonprofitable adjective
- nonprofitablely adverb
- nonprofitableness noun
- profitability noun
- profitableness noun
- profitably adverb
- subprofitable adjective
- subprofitableness noun
- subprofitably adverb
Etymology
Origin of profitable
Explanation
Things that are profitable make money or are beneficial in other ways. Businesses hope to be profitable in the financial sense, but a profitable relationship is one that's good for everyone involved. Profitable started out as a word to describe anything useful, but it hooked up with finance in the mid-1700s. Profits are measured in money earned beyond expenses, so profitable businesses or transactions make money. A busy restaurant, sold-out concert, and best-selling book are all profitable. People also use this word for situations that are good in ways that don’t involve money. If you learned a lot from something, then it was a profitable experience, even if you didn't make any cash.
Vocabulary lists containing profitable
Content Summary 4.1: Causes and Consequences of Iberian Maritime Exploration and Colonialism
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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
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Business, List 3
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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.
Freiha declined to disclose financials but said Blank Street has a $500-million valuation, is profitable and sells about three times as many drinks per store as it did three years ago.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
By the time Bennett took Ashford Inc. private again in 2024—for $11 million—its common shareholders had never had a profitable year after paying interest costs and preferred stock dividends.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
It also plans to modernize its technology strategy and accelerate profitable growth as a separate public company.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
These book-tax gaps can make companies appear profitable on financial statements even in years when their tax bill is temporarily small.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
Lots of small seizures can be nearly as profitable, and require the expenditure of fewer investigative resources, than a few large busts.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
