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.
For Alphabet, "this is the first quarter that the negative thesis around AI crushing search has legs," Ives wrote, referring to Google’s search advertising business, one of the most profitable businesses in history.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Also in 1924, investigations were afoot into the Teapot Dome scandal, which would swing the public’s attitude about another hugely profitable California industry and its enormously rich founder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Chip companies focusing their efforts on profitable HBM has also fuelled shortages of the less glamorous computer memory components used in everyday consumer electronics -- driving up the price of smartphones and laptops.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Its disintegration would mark an extraordinary fall for a storied law firm with 1,200 attorneys worldwide that was among the most profitable and well-regarded in the profession.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
In July 2007, Merrill Lynch announced yet another sensationally profitable quarter, but admitted it had suffered a decline in revenues from mortgage trading due to losses in subprime bonds.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
