windfall Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun fruit that has fallen from the tree
noun a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden opportunity to make money)
gravy; bunce; bonanza; boom; manna from heaven; gold rush; godsend.
- the demand for testing has created a boom for those unregulated laboratories where boxes of specimen jars are processed like an assembly line

Anything blown down or off by the wind, as fruit from a tree, or the tree itself, or a portion of a forest prostrated by a violent wind, etc. "They became a windfall upon the sudden." Bacon.
An unexpected legacy, or other gain.
He had a mighty windfall out of doubt. B. Jonson.
windfall profits. profits obtained due to a chance ot unanticipated event that causes an asset to increase unexpectedly in value. In contrast to profits earned as the normal and expected yield of an enterprise.