windfall
noun
wind·fall
ˈwin(d)-ˌfȯl 
1
: something (such as a tree or fruit) blown down by the wind
2
: an unexpected, unearned, or sudden gain or advantage
Synonyms
Examples of windfall in a Sentence
They received a windfall because of the tax cuts.
hitting the lottery jackpot was an incredible windfall for the recently laid-off worker
Recent Examples on the Web
Sixth card: Potential windfall and unexpected gain.
—
Valerie Mesa, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
The biggest boost this quarter was in banks’ investment banking divisions, which have been on a hot-streak as pickup in mergers and acquisitions give banks massive windfalls from advisory fees.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 11 Oct. 2024
Politics What’s on the November ballot in California? Sept. 19, 2024
The Democrat has also proposed enacting a billionaire minimum tax and quadrupling the tax on stock buybacks — something corporations did a lot of with their windfalls from the 2017 tax cuts.
—Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
Iran has been reaping windfall profits from near-record oil production this year, with production doubling from less than 2 million barrels per day in 2019 to nearly 4 million barrels per day now, and with oil exports increasing from practically zero to nearly 2 million barrels per day.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for windfall 
Valerie Mesa, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
The biggest boost this quarter was in banks’ investment banking divisions, which have been on a hot-streak as pickup in mergers and acquisitions give banks massive windfalls from advisory fees.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 11 Oct. 2024
Politics What’s on the November ballot in California? Sept. 19, 2024
The Democrat has also proposed enacting a billionaire minimum tax and quadrupling the tax on stock buybacks — something corporations did a lot of with their windfalls from the 2017 tax cuts.
—Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
Iran has been reaping windfall profits from near-record oil production this year, with production doubling from less than 2 million barrels per day in 2019 to nearly 4 million barrels per day now, and with oil exports increasing from practically zero to nearly 2 million barrels per day.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for windfall
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'windfall.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near windfall
Cite this Entry
“Windfall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/windfall. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
windfall
noun
wind·fall
-ˌfȯl
1
: something (as a tree or fruit) blown down by the wind
2
: an unexpected gift, gain, or help
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