to make a fortune
- phrasal verb
- /meɪk ə ˈfɔrʧən/
- Many entrepreneurs hope to make a fortune by starting their own businesses.
But, well, you know, didn't he make a fortune off Kardashian show?
- But, well, you know, didn't he make a fortune off Kardashian show?
- So Joe Smith managed to make a fortune by by fixing Cobra programs.
- Like, if you know sports, you can make a fortune.
- Nobody said I made a fortune, right?
- Why should then you know it be closed off and private publishers are making a fortune selling you back your own research?
- Big Tech has been quite a crowded trade for some time now, and investors have made a fortune owning these stocks.
- I know for a fact that whoever has the best Alexa skill in this room is going to make a fortune in seven years.
- You know, you go to art school or and you can make a fortune out there.
- And Bank of America made a fortune because they had the credit card and people were signing up, but they had a closed system.
- So I took the technology job, you know, single money hungry in a sales job in the Internet, and I made a fortune nine months into it.
Examples
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You could easily make a fortune as a shrink, treating the problems of the rich and shameless.
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With your beauty and talents, and my business ability, we could make a fortune.
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You know, you go to art school or and you can make a fortune out there.
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And this is the time you can make a fortune if you know how to use risk control.
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When the stock went public and she was able to sell it, she made a fortune.
Fiction book (2002) -
With the right equipment and business strategy, he was sure we could make a fortune.
Fiction book (1996) -
Once the war ends, forget it, but for now it's great; you could make a fortune.
Fiction book (1993) -
We can sell the timber back home and make a fortune.
Fiction book (2000) -
You're going to make a fortune.
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Hyman was a very wise man who had made a fortune in penny stocks.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
To earn a large amount of money with little effort
To earn a lot of money very quickly and easily
To find big success or money after trying hard
To become rich very quickly, often by risky or dishonest methods
To earn a lot of money quickly with little work
Antonyms
How Rich
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to earn a large amount of money' is directly and compositionally derived from 'make' (to obtain/earn) plus 'fortune' (great wealth); the article 'a' is semantically neutral. This is a common and transparent verb + noun construction found cross-linguistically (e.g., Spanish 'hacer una fortuna', French 'faire fortune'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would very likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Make a fortune may come from a simple picture: to make (build or create) a big pile called a fortune (a large amount of money), like putting many coins together. That's why it now means 'to earn a large amount of money', often in a short time.