non-profit

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˌnɑˈnprɔfɪt/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    An organization that operates for purposes other than generating profit, typically for charitable, educational, religious, or social causes, and reinvests any surplus funds back into its mission.
  2. adjective
    Relating to or characteristic of an organization that does not distribute profits to owners or shareholders but uses them to further its stated goals.; Not conducted or maintained for the purpose of making a profit.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: non-profits

Collocations

non-profit organizationnon-profit sectornon-profit entitynon-profit statusrun a non-profitnon-profit foundation

Derivatives

nonprofitnot-for-profit

Synonyms

charityNGOnot-for-profitnon-governmental organization

Antonyms

for-profitcommercial

Commonly confused

charity
EN: 'Charity' specifically implies relief of poverty or public benefit; 'non-profit' is a broader legal/tax status that includes organizations not classified as charities.
not-for-profit
EN: 'Not-for-profit' is often used in legal and accounting contexts and is essentially synonymous, though some jurisdictions distinguish the two terms technically.

Spelling tips

EN: Acceptable spellings include 'non-profit' (hyphenated), 'nonprofit' (one word), and 'not-for-profit'. The one-word form 'nonprofit' is increasingly preferred in American English.

💬 Examples

  1. She works for a non-profit that provides clean water to rural communities in Africa.

  2. The hospital is a non-profit institution that relies heavily on donations and government grants.

  3. They organized a non-profit event to raise awareness about mental health issues.