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

With the entertainment industry in flux and talk everywhere about new models, Level Forward has been plugging away at one as a public benefit corporation — a for-profit company legally required to balance a focus on earnings with positive societal or environmental impact. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 19 May 2026

Musk’s lawsuit has asked for $150 billion in damages to be redirected to a charitable trust and requested an unwinding of OpenAI’s for-profit corporate structure. —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 19 May 2026

On Monday, OpenAI won a key battle on the road to the public market, prevailing in a lawsuit brought by co-founder Elon Musk over the for-profit status of the company. —Ian Thomas, CNBC, 19 May 2026

Musk filed his lawsuit in 2024, accusing Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman of unjustly enriching themselves, and OpenAI of breaching its duty as a nonprofit by starting a for-profit wing and taking billions in investment from Microsoft (also named as a defendant). —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 May 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