unprofitable
/ʌnˈprɒfɪtəbl/ (bre, ipa) · [ənprˈɑfɪtəbəl] /ʌnˈprɑːfɪtəbl/ (ame, ipa) · [ənprˈɑfɪtəbəl] /ˌən-ˈprä-fə-tə-bəl How to pronounce unprofitable (audio) -ˈpräf-tə-bəl/ (ame, mw)
unprofitable — adjective
- unprofitablepositive
- more unprofitablecomparative
- most unprofitablesuperlative
1. not producing enough money to cover the costs involved, or not giving any useful
not producing enough money to cover the costs involved, or not giving any useful result in return for the effort put in
Mei-Lin closed her unprofitable bakery after struggling with rising rent costs for a year.
collocation: unprofitable bakery / unprofitable business
The long and unprofitable meeting wasted everyone's afternoon without reaching any decision.
Diego considered his online tutoring side business unprofitable and shifted to teaching group classes.
Investors withdrew their money when the mining project turned out to be completely unprofitable.
Arguing with the landlord about the broken heater was unprofitable, so Yuki moved out instead.
- loss-making
used mainly in British English for businesses that spend more than they earn
- uneconomical
more formal; describes a process or activity that wastes money or resources
- fruitless
non-financial; describes efforts or searches that produce no result
- unrewarding
non-financial; describes work or activities that give no personal satisfaction or benefit
- profitable
the direct opposite; producing a financial gain
- worthwhile
non-financial; worth the time or effort spent