profitable

USAGE SUMMARY

The word "profitable" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to something that yields a profit or makes money. For example: "Investing in this real estate venture has proven to be highly profitable."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Johnston is at least profitable, earning £30.8m operating profit before exceptionals, but the company is desperate to pay down its £330m debt load by £40m a year.

The Guardian

Its new "country snapshot" shows Luxembourg was the most profitable country after the UK, where it reported £4.9bn of profits.

The Guardian - Business

In 2012, a bidding war for GMG Radio – the third largest radio group in the UK – resulted in Global Radio paying £70m for the barely profitable operation.

The Guardian

And they need to question whether they are focusing more on creating a profitable labour force than they are on ensuring the well-being of their students.

The Guardian

In the same month, Wonga appoints Andy Haste as chairman, who scraps the puppets and other light-hearted advertising straight away, and says the firm is going to get smaller and less profitable.

The Guardian - Business

The pharmaceutical sector is one in which a yawning gap separates laboratory research on the one hand and profitable products on the other.

The Guardian - Opinion

Production outside the US remained profitable, but the earnings fell by more than half.

The Guardian - Business

We don't expect [Little Red] to be by itself hugely profitable but to add total value to our network - by creating local traffic, but mostly by connecting these three airports to the world".

The Guardian - Business

Harvest, his latest novel, dramatises one of the great under-told narratives of English history: the forced enclosure of open fields and common land from the late medieval era on, whereby subsistence agriculture was replaced by profitable wool production and the peasant farmers dispossessed and displaced.

The Guardian - Books

It was as if hip-hop had agreed that jewellery, girls and cars were safe to rap about: the profitable gun-free future became mapped out as one long P Diddy nightmare of fur coats and samples from Police tracks, drifting into the horizon like the video of I'll Be Missing You.

The Guardian - Music

David Stevens's first job was as a trainee in a merchant bank, and his great claim to fame was in building up a pension fund manager, Montagu Investment Management (MIM), which became a sizeable and profitable company.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing a business or investment, use "profitable" to clearly communicate its ability to generate financial gains.

Common error

Avoid using "profitable" to describe gains that are not financial. For example, it is incorrect to say "a profitable friendship". Use words like "rewarding" or "fulfilling" instead.

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "profitable" is as an adjective. It modifies nouns to describe something that generates a profit or financial gain. Ludwig AI confirms this usage through numerous examples showcasing its role in describing businesses, investments, and activities.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

65%

Formal & Business

25%

Science

5%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The word "profitable" functions as an adjective that describes something generating financial gain. As Ludwig AI confirms, it’s considered grammatically correct and very common, especially in News & Media and Formal & Business contexts. While alternative terms like "lucrative" or "gainful" exist, "profitable" clearly and directly communicates the concept of financial benefit. A key point to remember is that "profitable" should be used to describe financial gains. It is incorrect to extend it to non-financial achievements, and Ludwig provides many examples supporting that "profitable" is always used in business and financial contexts.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

lucrative

Emphasizes high financial return or gain.

gainful

Highlights the benefit and advantage derived.

revenue-generating

Focuses on the action of creating revenue.

financially rewarding

Stresses the monetary benefits received.

income-producing

Highlights the generation of income.

yield-generating

Focuses on the generation of profit.

moneymaking

Highlights the ability to make money.

remunerative

Emphasizes the compensation or payment received.

booming

Suggests a period of economic success and growth.

successful

Indicates a positive outcome or achievement of objectives.

FAQs

How do you use "profitable" in a sentence?

You can use "profitable" to describe a business, investment, or activity that generates financial gain. For example, "The company had a very "profitable" year".

What's a better word than "profitable"?

Depending on the context, you can use words like "lucrative", "gainful", or "remunerative" as alternatives to "profitable".

Is it correct to say "highly profitable"?

Yes, it is correct to say "highly profitable". It's a common way to emphasize the significant financial gains generated by a business or investment.

What is the opposite of "profitable"?

The opposite of "profitable" is "unprofitable", which describes something that does not generate financial gain or even results in a financial loss.