for-profit

Language: en

🇺🇸 /fɔˈprɑfət/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Organized or operated for the purpose of making a profit, as opposed to a nonprofit or charitable organization.
  2. noun
    A company or organization that operates with the primary goal of generating profit for its owners or shareholders.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: for-profits

Collocations

for-profit organizationfor-profit companyfor-profit sectorfor-profit entityfor-profit institutionfor-profit hospital

Derivatives

nonprofitnot-for-profit

Synonyms

commercialproprietaryprofit-makingprivate

Antonyms

nonprofitnot-for-profit

Commonly confused

nonprofit
EN: 'Nonprofit' describes organizations that do not distribute profits to owners; 'for-profit' describes those that do.
profitable
EN: 'Profitable' means generating a profit (a result); 'for-profit' describes the organizational structure or intent to generate profit.

Spelling tips

EN: Always hyphenate 'for-profit' when used as a compound adjective before a noun (e.g., 'a for-profit company'). The noun form 'for-profits' also retains the hyphen.

💬 Examples

  1. The for-profit hospital chain expanded into three new states last year.

  2. Many for-profits are now investing in renewable energy projects.