fortune
part of speech
noun (a fortune, fortunes; fortune — uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) A very large amount of money: «That car cost a fortune». tree →
2) Luck, good or bad, especially luck that affects your life: «good fortune». tree →
3) What will happen to a person in the future: «tell someone's fortune». tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories heroes «seek their fortune» (go out into the world to become rich and happy). «A fortune teller» says she can see the future — in real life nobody can. Phrases: «cost a fortune», «make a fortune», «good fortune», «by good fortune», «fortune cookie».
examples
- The pirates hoped to find a fortune in gold. tree →
- That new phone must have cost a fortune! tree →
- By good fortune, it stopped raining just before the race. tree →
- Jack left home to seek his fortune. tree →
- The fortune teller said I would travel far. tree →
- My fortune cookie said, "Kindness brings joy." tree →
- She made a fortune selling her inventions. tree →
- It is most extraordinary good fortune." tree →
note
«Fortune» meaning luck is uncountable. «A fortune» means lots of money (often exaggerated: «cost a fortune» = very expensive). Adjective: fortunate (lucky); unfortunate (unlucky). Fortune telling is not science; it cannot really predict the future.
In the corpora
- In China bats have long been a sign of good luck, because the word for bat sounds like the word for good fortune.
- Long ago they came from far away and were worth a fortune.
- "Lady Luck" means chance or fortune, spoken of as if she were a person.
- Fortune tellers and horoscopes use general statements that fit almost anyone; there is no evidence they predict the future.
- People lose a lot of money every year to fortune tellers and other tricks that use guesses that fit almost anyone.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «fortune» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.