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
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.
Unprofitable technology businesses, speculative shell companies and meme stocks have all fallen out of favor in recent months.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025
Unprofitable ticket prices notwithstanding, long-distance train travel dropped by 5.4 percent between the 2010 and 2018 fiscal years, while air travel rose by nearly 24 percent.
From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2021
Unprofitable charters won’t end any time soon because the fastest growth in oil demand is in Asia not western economies, said Tufton Oceanic’s Vergottis.
From BusinessWeek • Jun. 6, 2011
Unprofitable heavy-equipment divisions have been sold off, red-inked offices closed, personnel trimmed, including a cut in the headquarters office force from 2,000 to 200.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Unprofitable questions," he said coolly, "like ill-timed jests, are better left alone."
From The Safety Curtain, and Other Stories by Dell, Ethel M. (Ethel May)
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.
