for ‧ tune S3 W3 /ˈfɔːtʃ ə n $ ˈfɔːr-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ fortune , ↑ misfortune , ↑ unfortunate ; adverb : ↑ fortunately ≠ ↑ unfortunately ; adjective : ↑ fortunate ≠ ↑ unfortunate ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin fortuna ]
1 . MONEY [countable] a very large amount of money:
He made a fortune selling property in Spain.
My first painting sold for £25, a small fortune then for an art student.
He died in poverty in 1947, but his art is worth a fortune.
The carpet must have cost a fortune.
It is quite easy to decorate your house without spending a fortune.
Her personal fortune was estimated at £37 million.
2 . CHANCE [uncountable] chance or luck, and the effect that it has on your life:
I had the good fortune to work with a brilliant head of department.
Sickness or ill fortune could reduce you to a needy situation.
I felt it was useless to struggle against fortune.
3 . WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU [countable usually plural] the good or bad things that happen in life:
a downturn in the company’s fortunes
This defeat marked a change in the team’s fortunes.
The geographical position of the frontier fluctuated with the fortunes of war (=the things that can happen during a war) .
4 . tell sb’s fortune to tell someone what will happen to them in the future by looking at their hands, using cards etc
⇨ ↑ soldier of fortune , ⇨ fame and fortune at ↑ fame , ⇨ a hostage to fortune at ↑ hostage (3), ⇨ seek your fortune at ↑ seek (4)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ make a fortune ( also amass a fortune formal ) (=gain a lot of money)
His family amassed a fortune during that period.
▪ make your fortune (=become rich)
She made her fortune in the cosmetics industry.
▪ earn a fortune
He hopes to earn a fortune from his latest invention.
▪ lose a fortune (=lose a lot of money)
He lost a fortune in an unwise business deal.
▪ cost a fortune (=be very expensive)
It’ll cost a fortune if we go by taxi.
▪ spend a fortune
You don’t have to spend a fortune giving your family healthy meals.
▪ pay a fortune (=pay a lot of money)
We had to pay a fortune in rent.
▪ inherit a fortune (=gain a lot of money after someone dies)
He inherited a fortune of a million pounds from his uncle.
▪ leave somebody a fortune (=arrange for someone to receive a lot of money after you die)
He left his wife a modest fortune.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + fortune
▪ a huge/vast/immense fortune
Timothy was the heir to a vast fortune.
▪ a large/substantial/considerable fortune
His father, an oil magnate, amassed a large fortune.
▪ a small fortune (=a very large amount of money)
He made a small fortune in the London property boom.
▪ a personal/private fortune
She is one of the richest women in Britain, with an estimated personal fortune of £90 million.
▪ a £20 million/$40 million etc fortune
She is believed to have a £25 million fortune.
■ phrases
▪ be worth a fortune informal:
The building itself is worth a fortune.