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Definition of profitable adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

profitable

adjective
 
 
/ˈprɒfɪtəbl/
 
/ˈprɑːfɪtəbl/
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  1.  
    that makes or is likely to make money
    • a highly profitable business
    • a profitable investment
    • It is usually more profitable to sell direct to the public.
    Synonyms successfulsuccessfulprofitable ▪ commercial ▪ lucrative ▪ economicThese words all describe somebody/​something that is making or is likely to make money.successful making a lot of money, especially by being popular:
    • The play was very successful on Broadway.
    • The company has had another successful year.
    profitable making a profit:
    • a highly profitable business
    commercial [only before noun] making or intended to make a profit:
    • The movie was not a commercial success (= made no profit).
    lucrative (of business or work) producing or paying a large amount of money; making a large profit:
    • They do a lot of business in lucrative overseas markets.
    economic (often used in negative sentences) (of a process, business or activity) producing enough profit to continue:
    • Small local shops stop being economic when a supermarket opens up nearby.
    Patterns
    • a successful/​profitable/​lucrative business
    • a successful/​profitable/​lucrative year
    • a(n) commercial/​economic success
    Extra Examples
    • The business is not really profitable enough.
    • What can be done to keep the business profitable?
    • confident that the venture will prove profitable
    Topics Businessc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • appear
    • be
    • prove
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    See full entry
  2. that gives somebody an advantage or a useful result synonym rewarding
    • a profitable experience
    • She spent a profitable afternoon in the library.
    Extra Examples
    • It was, generally, a profitable meeting.
    • Some churches have found it profitable to hold services during the week.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • find something
    adverb
    • very
    • mutually
    • potentially
    • …
    See full entry
    3. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, from the verb profiter, from Latin profectus ‘progress, profit’, from proficere ‘to advance’, from pro- ‘on behalf of’ + facere ‘do’.
See profitable in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee profitable in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: profitable

Nearby words

perspective
noun
 
 
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