Godsend
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An instance of unexpected benefit or good fortune; a windfall.
""You do, indeed, seem to take it to heart!" exclaimed the actress, an expression of jealous anger crossing her features; "why, it is quite a God-send for you! many a heart is caught in the rebound.[…]""
- 2 a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden opportunity to make money) wordnet
- 3 An instance of unexpected benefit or good fortune; a windfall.; The wreck of a ship which has washed up on shore, from which cargo, timber, etc., may be obtained. British, archaic, regional, specifically
"Its seldom sic [such] rich Godsends come on our coast—no since the Jenny and James came ashore in King Charlie's time."
- 4 A person who provides greatly needed assistance.
Example
More examples"The Apollo 13 movie was a godsend because it gave the young people who weren’t even born at the time a chance to find out what was really happening back then."
Etymology
A variant of God’s send, from God + -’s + send (“(obsolete) act of sending”), in the sense of someone or something sent by God.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.