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 of profitable

• 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

The stakes in this case are high for Meta, a market leader and one of the most profitable social media companies in the world. — John Ruwitch, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026

This age group is the most profitable for childcare providers, as the larger class sizes of pre-K children subsidize the cost of caring for infants and toddlers. — Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Aug. 2026

And in general, despite subscriber losses, these channels are still profitable and often used to fund other parts of media businesses, such as building out streaming services or paying down heavy debt loads. — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026

Exceptions whose labor powers one of the most profitable storytelling machines in the world, while their mental needs are treated as inconvenient or irrelevant. — Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 23 Aug. 2026

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