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💰 Likely to succeed 🏦 Accepted by banks
bankable

bankable

4 6.7
Likely to make money or be successful in business
  • adjective
  • /ˈbæŋkəbl/
  • Jargon
: rentable
  • Only time will tell whether this initiative will lead to a pipeline of "bankable" projects.
  • a bankable star
  • bankable actors
  • the most bankable

And although I had Eric Roberts, he wasn't really a bankable star.

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Examples

  • In order to ensure that a film will be successful, it must be cast with bankable talent—actors popular enough to demand multimillion-dollar contracts (as well as script approval and other privileges).

    Academic text (2010)

  • MGM has had a string of failures, so it turns to its most bankable star, Vincent Price.

    The Big Sick (2017)

  • But it's always, "Get a bankable star."

    Celebrity (1998)

  • No bankable star is going to work with you after this.

    S1m0ne (2002)

  • As a result, bankable investment projects can be expected to become less numerous.

    Blog text (15)

  • An economy with high net savings will have many bankable projects.

    Blog text (15)

  • Apple is one of the most prestigious bankable companies in the world.

  • Herman Daly talks about a lack of bankable projects, not only in the US, but around the world, in this recent post.

    Blog text (15)

  • In her time, Garbo was the most famous woman in the world, smashed all the glass ceilings and became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, the highest-earning actor of her time.

    Garbo: Where Did You Go? (2024)

  • Successful actors often seek to become bankable stars to ensure lucrative film deals.

Synonyms

sellable
vsbankable
2 3.1

Good enough for people to want to buy

is judged by expected profit and success rather than merely being offered for purchase
investable
vsbankable
1 4.9

Something you can put money into to try to earn money

is judged for likely to make profit or succeed commercially
fundable
vsbankable
  • Jargon
1 4.6

Can get money to start or run a project

is assessed for its likely profit or success rather than just funding eligibility

Antonyms

unsuccessful
75 2.9

Not getting the result someone wants

unprofitable
10 4.9

Not making money for a person or business

How Bankable

profitable
184 3.8
bankable
  • Jargon
4 6.7
promising
205 3.1
unpromising
2 4.5

Surface Forms

bankable positive

Morphology

bankable = bank (semi-transparent) = bank + able

The adjective is a metaphorical/business extension from the financial sense of 'bank' to mean 'likely to generate profit', so learners may not fully derive the sense from the base.

Etymology

Bankable originally meant something you could put in a bank, because bank is where money is kept and -able means 'able to be'. A helpful way to remember the business meaning is to think 'will bring money to the bank', so a bankable person or project is one likely to make money.