profitable
Americanadjective
-
yielding profit; remunerative.
a profitable deal.
-
beneficial or useful.
- Synonyms:
- helpful, valuable, advantageous
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonprofitability noun
- nonprofitable adjective
- nonprofitablely adverb
- nonprofitableness noun
- profitability noun
- profitableness noun
- profitably adverb
- subprofitable adjective
- subprofitableness noun
- subprofitably adverb
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.
Grant is concerned data centers don’t look profitable and one should be careful about debt financing.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
Freiha declined to disclose financials but said Blank Street has a $500-million valuation, is profitable and sells about three times as many drinks per store as it did three years ago.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
A handful of other brands are likewise betting that in a fractured America, a devoted niche consumer base is more profitable than an apathetic majority.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
By the time Bennett took Ashford Inc. private again in 2024—for $11 million—its common shareholders had never had a profitable year after paying interest costs and preferred stock dividends.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
How much more profitable the store would be!
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
