windfall
pronunciation
How to pronounce windfall in British English:
UK [ˈwɪndfɔ:l]
How to pronounce windfall in American English:
US [ˈwɪndˌfɔl]
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- Noun:
- fruit that has fallen from the tree
- a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden opportunity to make money)
Word Origin
- windfall (n.)
- mid-15c., from wind (n.1) + fall (n.1). Originally literal, in reference to wood or fruit blown down by the wind, and thus free to all. Figurative sense of "unexpected acquisition" is recorded from 1540s.
Example
- 1. Only half made any attempt to return the windfall .
- 2. For many , the crisis has also handed them a windfall .
- 3. But farmers sitting on unsold stocks are in for a windfall .
- 4. But students now hope that falling prices will provide them with a windfall .
- 5. Bondholders everywhere are anticipating windfall gains , as the owners of gilts have enjoyed .