for-profit

adjective

for-prof·​it ˈfȯr-ˈprä-fət 

: established, maintained, or conducted for the purpose of making a profit

for-profit businesses

Examples of for-profit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This controversy will be an early test of how Mayor Mamdani balances his commitment to parks and open space against for-profit developer efforts to exploit the city’s housing crisis to circumvent zoning rules and renege on community commitments. —Katherine Thompson, New York Daily News, 2 Mar. 2026

Benner said being a lawyer at a nonprofit healthcare institution is definitely different than being with a for-profit company. —Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 27 Feb. 2026

The saga involved a unique corporate structure that placed the fast-growing, for-profit company behind ChatGPT under the auspices of a nonprofit board. —David Goldman, CNN Money, 26 Feb. 2026

In addition, the board certification Rodriguez promotes on his website from the American Academy of Procedural Medicine, a for-profit Fort Lauderdale business, is not recognized by the Florida Board of Medicine. —Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for for-profit

• nonprofit
• profit
• prophet
• soffit

Kids Definition

for-profit

adjective

for-prof·​it

ˈfȯr-ˈpräf-ət

: existing or carried on for the purpose of making a profit

for-profit business