profitable

adjective

prof·​it·​able ˈprä-fə-tə-bəl 

ˈpräf-tə-bəl

: affording profits : yielding advantageous returns or results

profitability

ˌprä-fə-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

profitableness

ˈprä-fə-tə-bəl-nəs 

noun

profitably

ˈprä-fə-tə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• lucrative
• worthwhile

Examples of profitable in a Sentence

The movie was very profitable.

selling real estate on the side turned out to be a profitable venture for the stay-at-home mom

Recent Examples on the Web

Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting regime, designed to make United profitable again, epitomises that financial landscape. —Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025

And OpenAI, which is not yet profitable, needs to find a way to continue raking in huge amounts of cash to fund its future endeavors. —Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025

Jensen addressed the Oracle report in his interview with Jim, saying the company will be very profitable over the lifespan with its Nvidia systems. —Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025

Still, the company finished the year profitable. —Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for profitable

• unprofitable

Kids Definition

profitable

adjective

prof·​it·​able ˈpräf-ət-ə-bəl 

ˈpräf-tə-bəl

: producing profit

profitably

-blē 

adverb

Legal Definition

profitable

adjective

prof·​it·​able ˈprä-fə-tə-bəl 

: affording profits : yielding advantageous returns or results

profitability

ˌprä-fə-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

profitableness noun

profitably adverb