windfall

noun

wind·​fall ˈwin(d)-ˌfȯl How to pronounce windfall (audio)
Synonyms of windfall
1
: something (such as a tree or fruit) blown down by the wind
2
: an unexpected, unearned, or sudden gain or advantage

Synonyms of windfall

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Those figures largely predate the state’s move to universal free child care, which began in November 2025 and is funded by an oil and gas windfall. — Martie Bowser, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026 The rush from the other 29 teams to acquire him would be quite literally hilarious, because trading Ohtani would be an act of financial suicide for LA and a massive windfall for a new team. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026 Room for Disagreement No matter what happens with Permian oil production, the region is set to see a windfall from the influx of hyperscale data centers, including an enormous one Chevron is building southwest of Midland. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026 By that measure, Musk’s political defeat has come with an extraordinary financial windfall. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 22 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for windfall

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of windfall was in the 15th century

Rhymes for windfall

See All Rhymes for windfall

Browse Nearby Words

wind erosion
windfall
windfallen
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Windfall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/windfall. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

windfall

noun
wind·​fall -ˌfȯl How to pronounce windfall (audio)
1
: something (as a tree or fruit) blown down by the wind
2
: an unexpected gift, gain, or help
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All