windfall

[ wind-fawl ]

noun

1. an unexpected gain, piece of good fortune, or the like:

   I've recently come into a windfall and am considering early retirement.

2. an unexpected positive result or by-product:

   The industry’s profits are a windfall of war.

3. something blown down by the wind, such as fruit or a tree:

   We'll have plenty of firewood for winter, as there are a lot of pine windfalls around.

   She has a dozen apple trees, and every day she picks up the windfalls for eating and baking.

4. the fall of something blown down by the wind:

   The orchard must be sheltered from prevailing winds, as a windfall of peaches too early in the season can be disastrous.

5. a quantity or mass of trees blown down by the wind, or an area containing many such trees:

   The road was covered by extensive windfall which had to be cut and removed.

adjective

1. (of profit or other gain) coming unexpectedly and in a large amount:

   One new business relationship can produce tens of thousands of dollars in windfall profits.

2. blown down by the wind:

   In addition to grain, his free-range chickens eat bugs and windfall fruit.

windfall

/ ˈwɪndˌfɔːl /

noun

1. a piece of unexpected good fortune, esp financial gain
2. something blown down by the wind, esp a piece of fruit
3. a plot of land covered with trees blown down by the wind

windfall

1. An unexpected profit from a business or other source. The term connotes gaining huge profits without working for them — for example, when oil companies profit from a temporary scarcity of oil.

Word History and Origins

Origin of windfall¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; wind ¹ + fall

Example Sentences

Because the three has become just a bit more difficult, it’s not the windfall it once was.

From FiveThirtyEight

Staying at the forefront of the AdTech innovation curve will open doors to windfall profits.

From Search Engine Watch

The second media executive said that their company has “not seen a windfall of political dollars.”

From Digiday

The world’s rapid shift to online platforms during the pandemic is a windfall for artificial intelligence, he said.

From Fortune

Still, he says that there is “too much uncertainty” to begin lowering reserves, a move that would prove a windfall for profits, and could happen.

From Fortune

It generates tragedy, violence, and a windfall for undertakers.

From The Daily Beast

And the boomers—at least those in the more affluent classes—are about to get yet another windfall.

From The Daily Beast

With some areas, the differences are stark in terms of where this windfall lands.

From The Daily Beast

Is this ignorant and sanitized speech truly a windfall for feminism?

From The Daily Beast

The Vatican reinvested about 60% of its windfall in government bonds.

From The Daily Beast

Since the announcement of this windfall we understand that the beneficiaries have been overwhelmed with offers of marriage.

From Project Gutenberg

At the sound there was a sudden rustling in the bushes behind the windfall.

From Project Gutenberg

The Institution had just had a windfall in the shape of one of those agreeable 1000l.

From Project Gutenberg

Ay, my boy, there it is—no doing in this world without the needful, and I'm not the ass to fight shy of such a windfall.

From Project Gutenberg

With a great expenditure of time and patience I have at last had this windfall, very rarely, I admit.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bonanza
• bonus