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

Five years ago, self-storage was one of the most profitable segments of the real-estate industry, with higher annual returns than multifamily housing, office complexes, and retail stores. — David Owen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

In the small-cap space, profitable long-side traders and short sellers are meticulous. — David Capablanca, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

The company is raising more capital because of the number of opportunities in space, despite having been profitable for five consecutive years, Jordà said. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026

That constellation has kept the company profitable despite the disruption caused by the Iran war. — Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 14 Sep. 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