Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A sudden, unexpected piece of good fortune or financial gain.
- noun Something, such as a ripened fruit, that has been blown down by the wind.
- adjective Of or relating to a windfall.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Windfallen.
- noun Something blown down by the wind, as fruit from a tree, or a number of trees in a forest.
- noun An unexpected piece of good fortune, as an unexpected legacy.
- noun The tract of fallen trees, etc., which shows the path of a tornado.
- noun A violent gust of wind rushing from coast-ranges and mountains to the sea.
- noun The down-rush of air occurring on the leeward side of a hill or mountain at a distance from its base.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Anything blown down or off by the wind, as fruit from a tree, or the tree itself, or a portion of a forest prostrated by a violent wind, etc.
- noun An unexpected legacy, or other gain.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Something that has been blown down by the wind.
- noun A
fruit that hasfallen from atree naturally, as from wind - noun figuratively A
sudden largebenefit ; especially aninflux ofmoney
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden opportunity to make money)
- noun fruit that has fallen from the tree
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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ROBERTS: But Democrats are saying that the companies could avoid these taxes on what they call windfall profits if the oil companies put that money into alternative energy sources.
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The difference between the two planes is that Senator Clinton wants to slap you with a 50 percent profit on what she calls windfall taxes, you profit above a certain level, not a good idea?
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Actually, Obama proposed a rebate of up to $1,000 per family to defray increased heating oil costs, funded by what he calls a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
"And John McCain either doesn't know who the Prime Minister of Spain is, thinks Spain is a country in Latin America, or possibly both." Ann Althouse 2008
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I mean there is a sense of what the -- the idea was, in large part, is that the bill was going to tax what we call windfall profits, profits that are thought to be higher than reasonable on oil companies, and use that money to fund alternative energy.
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Actually, Obama proposed a rebate of up to $1,000 per family to defray increased heating oil costs, funded by what he calls a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
Stephen C. Rose: FactCheck.Org Skewers McCain Again for Misrepresenting Obama Tax Positions 2008
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In your career, if you're looking forward, a promotion might bring you a short term windfall or growth but it might not take you to the top of the ladder or worse-to the top of the wrong ladder.
Forbes.com: News Meghan Casserly 2011
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A.I.G. is seeking $350 million in damages from ICP as well as what it calls a "windfall" made by Moore.
NYT > Home Page By LOUISE STORY 2011
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Obama proposed a rebate of up to $1,000 per family to defray increased heating oil costs, funded by what he calls a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
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But I don't think giving financial corporations a huge windfall is the main motive for taxpayer-funded superannuation; it's mostly an ideological thing.
More on Privatization, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
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For the record, I don't think giving financial corporations a huge windfall is the main motive for privatization; it's mostly an ideological thing.
More on Privatization, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
misterpolly commented on the word windfall
Also a piece of unexpected good luck, like winning money in a lottery or inheriting.
December 14, 2007
bilby commented on the word windfall
"We be no windfals my Lord; ye must gather us with the ladder of matrimony, or we'l hang till we be rotten. Mons. Indeed that's the way to make ye right openarses... Farewell riddle. Gui. Farewell Medlar."
- 'Bussy d'Ambois III', G. Chapman, 1607.
December 15, 2007