fortune

[ fawr-chuhn ]

noun

1. position in life as determined by wealth:

   It's not easy to make one's fortune from humble beginnings.

2. wealth or riches:

   He lost a small fortune in bad investments.

3. great wealth; ample stock of money, property, and the like:

   Those gems are worth a fortune.

4. chance; luck:

   They each had the bad fortune to marry the wrong person.

   Synonyms: karma, kismet, providence, destiny, fate

5. fortunes. things that happen or are to happen to a person in their life:

   Her charitable spirit stayed with her even as her fortunes changed with marriage.

6. fate; lot; destiny:

   Whatever my fortune may be, my faith will guide me.

7. Fortune. chance personified, commonly regarded as a mythical being distributing arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of life:

   Perhaps Fortune will smile on our venture.

   Synonyms: Lady Luck, Moira

8. good luck; success; prosperity:

   The family was blessed by fortune.

9. Archaic. a wealthy woman; an heiress.

verb (used with object)

, for·tuned, for·tun·ing.

1. Archaic. to endow (someone or something) with a fortune.

verb (used without object)

, for·tuned, for·tun·ing.

1. Archaic. to chance or happen; come by chance.

fortune

/ ˈfɔːtʃən /

noun

1. an amount of wealth or material prosperity, esp, when unqualified, a great amount
2. small fortune
   a large sum of money
3. a power or force, often personalized, regarded as being responsible for human affairs; chance
4. luck, esp when favourable
5. often plural a person's lot or destiny

verb

1. archaic.
   1. tr to endow with great wealth
   2. intr to happen by chance

Derived Forms

• ˈfortuneless, adjective

Other Words From

• fortune·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fortune¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin fortūna “chance, luck, fortune,” derivative of fort- (stem of fors ) “chance”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fortune¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin fortūna , from fors chance

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. tell someone's fortune, to profess to inform someone of future events in their own life; foretell.

More idioms and phrases containing fortune

see make a fortune .

Example Sentences

Yoakam said it was “born of my fortune and the love in my life.”

From Los Angeles Times

"It was never about wanting fame and fortune," they say.

From BBC

Peter Haas died in 2005, and Lurie and his mother are among the primary heirs of the Strauss family fortune.

From Los Angeles Times

With his acting career fading and most of his fortune gone, the 75-year-old has been fighting to stave off bankruptcy and keep the park open — including selling his two apartments and a yacht and moving into the park.

From Los Angeles Times

There was a touch of fortune about the way a stray line-out lead to Thomas du Toit's try for the Boks as well.

From BBC