unprofitable
Americanadjective
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being without profit; not showing or turning a profit.
a series of unprofitable ventures.
-
pointless or futile.
an unprofitable three years in a routine job.
adjective
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not making a profit
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not fruitful or beneficial
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of unprofitable
1275–1325; Middle English. See un- 1, profitable
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.
SpaceX isn’t the only unprofitable trillion-dollar or near-trillion-dollar company aiming to go public in 2026.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
Samsung’s management had also said that it couldn’t accept the union’s demands, which include performance-based bonuses even for employees at its unprofitable business units.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
The insurers behind the Medicare Advantage market have been exiting certain unprofitable markets or discontinuing plans amid higher-than-expected medical expenses among subscribers and changes in government payments that have squeezed margins.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
While the company recently signed a $20 billion deal with OpenAI for compute capacity, it remains unprofitable and heavily dependent on two major customers in the United Arab Emirates.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
As they say in Ekumenical School, when action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
