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.
The GTA franchise is one of the biggest and most profitable entertainment properties in history.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026
“As a newly independent public company, we are moving forward with a clear strategy focused on profitable growth and service differentiation,” FedEx Freight’s Chief Executive Officer John Smith said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
“Buying the dip” is not always a profitable investment strategy.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026
His soft wheat yield was half what was needed for the crop to be profitable, he said.
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
“The university will be more inclined to reward by pay or promotion him who makes some addition to knowledge of an immediately profitable kind rather than him who works for knowledge itself,” he said.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
