fortune

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A very large amount of money or valuable possessions.

   Grammar: Often singular with a: make a fortune.

   Patterns

   • make a fortune
   • cost a fortune

   She made a fortune selling handmade candles online.

   The old house is worth a fortune.

   He inherited a small fortune from an uncle.

2. 2noununcountable

   Luck, good or bad, and the way events turn out in a person's life.

   Grammar: No plural in this sense: fortune smiled on them.

   Patterns

   • good fortune
   • bad fortune

   Fortune favored the team in the final minute.

   She had the good fortune to meet a great teacher.

   By a twist of fortune, the letter arrived in time.

3. 3nouncountable

   What will happen to someone in the future, as told by a fortune teller or cookie.

   Grammar: Usually in tell someone's fortune.

   Patterns

   • tell someone's fortune

   The fortune in my cookie said I would travel soon.

   A woman at the fair told our fortunes.

   He laughed and read his fortune aloud.

4. 4nounusually plural

   The success or failure of a person, company or place over a period.

   Grammar: Often plural: the fortunes of a club.

   Patterns

   • the fortunes of something

   The company's fortunes improved after the new launch.

   The town's fortunes rose and fell with the mill.

   Fans followed the fortunes of their team all season.

Word forms

Common combinations

make a fortune

They made a fortune in shipping.

cost a fortune

The repairs cost a fortune.

small fortune

She spent a small fortune on shoes.

seek your fortune

He left home to seek his fortune.

turn of fortune

A turn of fortune saved the business.

tell someone's fortune

The palm reader told her fortune.

Synonyms and how they differ

wealth

Wealth is the general condition of being rich, while fortune is a specific, often sudden, sum.

luck

Luck is chance only; fortune can also mean money or a life's course.

destiny

Destiny suggests a fixed future, while fortune is how things turn out.

riches

Riches is old-fashioned and refers to valuable possessions.

Opposites

Word family

fortunate adjective

Having good luck.

unfortunate adjective

Having bad luck.

fortunately adverb

Luckily.

misfortune noun

Bad luck.

Commonly confused: fortune or fortitude?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fortune”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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