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Webster 1913 Edition


Profitable

Prof′it-a-ble

,
Adj.
[F.
profitable
.]
Yielding or bringing profit or gain; gainful; lucrative; useful; helpful; advantageous; beneficial;
as, a
profitable
trade;
profitable
business; a
profitable
study or profession.
What was so
profitable
to the empire became fatal to the
emperor.
Arbuthnot.
Prof′it-a-ble-ness
,
Noun.
Prof′it-a-bly
,
adv.

Webster 1828 Edition


Profitable

PROF'ITABLE

,
Adj.
Yielding or bringing profit or gain; gainful; lucrative; as a profitable trade; profitable business; a profitable study or profession.
1.
Useful; advantageous.
What was so profitable to the empire, became fatal to the emperor.

Definition 2024


profitable

profitable

English

Adjective

profitable (comparative more profitable, superlative most profitable)

  1. Producing a profit.
    • Aeschylus
      It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish.
    • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:
      The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about "creating compelling content", or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing" [] and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations


French

Etymology

From profiter + -able

Adjective

profitable m, f (plural profitables)

  1. profitable

Old French

Etymology

profiter + -able.

Adjective

profitable m (oblique and nominative feminine singular profitable)

  1. useful; usable; that one can make use of

Descendants

References