unprofitable

adjective

un·​prof·​it·​able ˌən-ˈprä-fə-tə-bəl 

-ˈpräf-tə-bəl

: not profitable : producing no gain, good, or result

an unprofitable venture

unprofitableness noun

unprofitably

ˌən-ˈprä-fə-tə-blē 

-ˈpräf-tə-blē

adverb

Synonyms of unprofitable

• unsuccessful
• futile
• useless

Examples of unprofitable in a Sentence

an unprofitable effort to find the information

Recent Examples on the Web

Ranching is still difficult and often unprofitable work, especially for family operations. — Max Saltman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Cramer said Establishment Labs remains unprofitable eight years after going public, and its most recent quarterly loss was larger than Wall Street expected. — Alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2026

The company's strong gross margins on API sales indicate previous losses stemmed from investing in future model training, not from unprofitable products. — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Lilith Fair was a groundbreaking, all-female music festival, founded in 1997 by singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, challenging the notion that female artists were unprofitable and couldn’t draw large crowds. — Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unprofitable

• profitable

Kids Definition

unprofitable

adjective

un·​prof·​it·​able ˌən-ˈpräf-ət-ə-bəl 

-ˈpräf-tə-bəl, 

ˈən-

: not profitable

unprofitably

-blē 

adverb