profitable
Americanadjective
-
yielding profit; remunerative.
a profitable deal.
-
beneficial or useful.
- Synonyms:
- helpful, valuable, advantageous
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
That wouldn’t rule out housing on the site, but it would give a team more flexibility to build whatever project might be considered most profitable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
That underlines how consistently Brighton have combined significant player sales with reinvestment, rather than relying on one unusually profitable window.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
But by focusing on more seasoned and profitable companies via the S&P 500, that same investor could have gotten something else wrong: the surge in small- and microcap stocks this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
European fossil fuel companies that once touted renewable goals, including Shell, BP and Norway’s Equinor, have dialed them back and doubled down on more profitable oil and gas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 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.
