fortune

1 of 2

noun

for·​tune ˈfȯr-chən How to pronounce fortune (audio)
1
a
: a very large sum of money
spent a fortune redecorating
b
: riches, wealth
a man of fortune
c
: a store of material possessions
the family fortune
2
a
: prosperity attained partly through luck : success
fortune attended the general's campaign
c
fortunes plural : the turns and courses of luck accompanying one's progress (as through life)
her fortunes varied but she never gave up
3
: destiny, fate
can tell your fortune
also : a prediction of fortune
4
often capitalized : a hypothetical force or personified power that unpredictably determines events and issues favorably or unfavorably
a country favored by fortune
5
obsolete : accident, incident

fortune

2 of 2

verb

fortuned; fortuning

transitive verb

1
obsolete : to give good or bad fortune to
2
archaic : to endow with a fortune

Examples of fortune in a Sentence

Noun He hoped to achieve fame and fortune. They had the good fortune to escape injury when their car crashed. The book follows the fortunes of two families through the years.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
On the back of this stunted and unremarkable-looking shrub, battles have been fought, empires founded and fortunes lost. Catherine Fairweather, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Mar. 2024 Gautam Adani’s personal fortune was also hammered, collapsing by more than $80 billion in the month following the release of the report. Diksha Madhok, CNN, 20 Mar. 2024 Those who got in fully understood their good fortune. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024 Same for the fruit to set at my grandpa and grandma’s altar, as well as the joss paper to burn for their good fortune. Frank Shyong, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 But after the deal devolved into a financial scandal, Whitman wound up laying off thousands of workers as HP’s fortunes sagged, leading eventually to the company being split in two in 2015. Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024 That loss, compounded by the tragic deaths of two sons, leaves him viciously determined to defend what remains of the family fortune. Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Mar. 2024 The go-go ’80s lifted the art market and Wall Street, and the rising fortunes of both lifted Raoul’s. Penelope Green, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Her ancestor Friedrich Engelhorn left BASF in the late 19th century and invested his fortune in the predecessor to Boehringer Mannheim, which was bought by Swiss pharma giant Roche Holdings AG for $11 billion in 1998. Sophie Alexander, Fortune Europe, 15 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fortune.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin fortuna; akin to Latin fort-, fors chance, luck, and perhaps to ferre to carry — more at bear

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fortune was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near fortune

Cite this Entry

“Fortune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fortune. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fortune

noun
for·​tune
ˈfȯr-chən
1
a
: favorable results that come partly by chance : good luck
b
: what happens to a person : good or bad luck
follows the fortunes of two families through the years
2
: what is to happen to one in the future
had my fortune told
also : a prediction of fortune
3
a
: the possession of material goods : wealth
b
: a store of material possessions : riches
the family fortune
c
: a large sum of money

More from Merriam-Webster on fortune

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