fortune
Use Fortune in a sentence
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tʃən noun
1.
position in life as determined by wealth: to make one's fortune.
2.
wealth or riches: to lose a small fortune in bad investments.
3.
great wealth; ample stock of money, property, and the like: to be worth a fortune.
4.
chance; luck: They each had the bad fortune to marry the wrong person.
5.
fortunes, things that happen or are to happen to a person in his or her life.
6.
fate; lot; destiny: whatever my fortune may be.
7.
( initial capital letter ) chance personified, commonly regarded as a mythical being distributing arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of life: Perhaps Fortune will smile on our venture.
8.
good luck; success; prosperity: a family blessed by fortune.
9.
Archaic. a wealthy woman; an heiress.
verb (used with object)
10.
Archaic. to endow (someone or something) with a fortune.
00:10
Fortune
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
verb (used without object)
Idioms 11.
Archaic. to chance or happen; come by chance.
12.
tell someone's fortune, to profess to inform someone of future events in his or her own life; foretell.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin fortūna chance, luck, fortune, derivative of fort- (stem of fors) chance
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin fortūna chance, luck, fortune, derivative of fort- (stem of fors) chance
Related forms
for·tune·less, adjective
Synonyms
4. fate, destiny, providence; kismet, karma. 7. Moira; Lady Luck.
4. fate, destiny, providence; kismet, karma. 7. Moira; Lady Luck.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To fortune
Collins
World English Dictionary
fortune (ˈfɔːtʃən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an amount of wealth or material prosperity, esp, when unqualified, a great amount |
| 2. | small fortune a large sum of money |
| 3. | a power or force, often personalized, regarded as being responsible for human affairs; chance |
| 4. | luck, esp when favourable |
| 5. | (often plural) a person's lot or destiny |
| —vb | |
| 6. | archaic |
| a. (tr) to endow with great wealth | |
| b. (intr) to happen by chance | |
| [C13: from Old French, from Latin fortūna, from fors chance] | |
| 'fortuneless | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fortune
c.1300, "chance, luck as a force in human affairs," from O.Fr. fortune (12c.), from L. fortuna, from fors (gen. fortis) "chance, luck," from PIE base *bhrtis-. Often personified as a goddess; her wheel betokens vicissitude. Sense of "owned wealth" first found in Spenser; probably it evolved from senses
of "one's condition or standing in life," hence "position as determined by wealth," then "wealth itself." Soldier of fortune first attested 1660s. The fortune cookie (1962) is said to have been invented in 1918 by David Jung, Chinese immigrant to America who established Hong Kong Noodle Co., who handed out cookies that contained uplifting messages as a promotional gimmick. Fortune 500 "most profitable American companies" is 1955, from the list published annually in "Fortune" magazine.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Fortune and fame can be fleeting, and if you pursue them above all else you are fostering unhappiness in your life.
The last of the moo shu pork is devoured and the fortune cookies arrive: fate in folded wafers.
The contrasting switches of fortune do not end there.
No matter how he made his claimed billions, a part of his fortune depends now on his celebrity.
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