profit

American  

[prof-it] / ˈprɒf ɪt /

noun

• profits
  plural

1. 

   Often profits.

   1. pecuniary gain resulting from the employment of capital in any transaction.

   2. the ratio of such pecuniary gain to the amount of capital invested.

   3. returns, proceeds, or revenue, as from property or investments.

   Synonyms:

   return

   Antonyms:

   loss

2. the monetary surplus left to a producer or employer after deducting wages, rent, cost of raw materials, etc..

   The company works on a small margin of profit.

   Synonyms:

   net income

3. advantage; benefit; gain.

   Synonyms:

   worth, use, avail, good

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verb (used without object)

• profits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• profited,
  past participle,  past
• profiting
  present participle

1. to gain an advantage or benefit.

   He profited greatly from his schooling.

2. to make a profit.

3. to take advantage.

   to profit from the weaknesses of others.

4. to be of service or benefit.

5. to make progress.

verb (used with object)

• profits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• profited,
  past participle,  past
• profiting
  present participle

1. to be of advantage or profit to.

   Nothing profits one so much as a sound education.

   Synonyms:

   help, advance

profit British  

/ ˈprɒfɪt /

noun

1. (often plural) excess of revenues over outlays and expenses in a business enterprise over a given period of time, usually a year

2. the monetary gain derived from a transaction

3. 1. income derived from property or an investment, as contrasted with capital gains

   2. the ratio of this income to the investment or principal

4. economics

   1. the income or reward accruing to a successful entrepreneur and held to be the motivating factor of all economic activity in a capitalist economy

   2. ( as modifier )

      the profit motive

5. a gain, benefit, or advantage

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verb

1. to gain or cause to gain profit

Usage

What are other ways to say profit? A profit is a gain or valuable return. How does it differ from an advantage or a benefit? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• profiter
  noun
• profitlessness
  noun
• self-profit
  noun
• profitless
  adjective
• proprofit
  adjective
• unprofited
  adjective
• unprofiting
  adjective
• profitlessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• profits
  plural

Participles

• profiting
  present
• profited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• profit
  simple
• profits
  simple
• have profited
  perfect
• has profited
  perfect
• am profiting
  progressive
• are profiting
  progressive
• is profiting
  progressive
• have been profiting
  perfect progressive
• has been profiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• profited
  simple
• had profited
  perfect
• was profiting
  progressive
• were profiting
  progressive
• had been profiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will profit
  simple
• will have profited
  perfect
• will be profiting
  progressive
• will have been profiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of profit

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the noun) Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin prōfectus “progress, profit,” noun use of past participle of prōficere “to make progress,” from prō- pro- ¹ + -ficere, combining form of facere “to do, make” ( cf. fact); verb derivative of the noun

Explanation

A profit is money you make, as opposed to money you lose. Also, anything good profits you — it benefits you. When we talk about profits, we're talking about coming out ahead. Businesses need to make a profit — money — or they'll have to fire employees, cut expenses, and maybe go out of business entirely. If more money is coming in than going out, that's a profit. Profit also means a benefit. For example, you could profit from playing baseball even if you made no money from it. Getting exercise and fun would profit anybody quite a bit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

profit profits profited profiting

The director of the Ford Foundation’s mission investments program explains why the assumption that you can’t make a positive impact and make a profit is all wrong.

From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2026

They say AI firms exaggerate the tech's abilities to boost their prominence or profit.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

The report, from the Financial Times citing multiple people with knowledge of the matter, said Anthropic told investors that it will profit on a measure called adjusted operating income.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

When asked by Fortune about the risk of human extinction, Altman said: "We all have a tremendous amount of responsibility, and cannot let egos or incentives for profit or anything else get in the way."

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

And thus the prince will always derive more profit from them than from those who neglect his affairs and serve him with too much self-confidence.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

Dick’s Sporting Goods recently warned of lower profits for the year as shoppers pulled back on footwear.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

"These numbers are huge, and frankly ridiculous," she said, saying reduced outlays could free up cash for generating tangible profits from investments already made.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

“If all the spending that we’re seeing on AI infrastructure is going to bear fruit and be productive, it’s going to have to generate profits outside of just the manufacturers of the equipment,” Rinehart said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

Some of the 19 accounts also placed bets in sports, politics and other areas, but the vast majority of their profits came from the successful bets on KPMG-audited companies, Bubblemaps found.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

“If a nation’s profits shrink, then it is every man’s business.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

He profited from the two front-nine par fives to pick up three birdies by the turn and lead by one.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Many of his assets are held in a trust overseen by Donald Trump Jr. The president said Wednesday that he profited on his investment accounts in 2025 because stock markets rallied.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Though Rinsch told the streamer that his sci-fi show “White Horse” was progressing nicely, the filmmaker allegedly moved the remaining money into cryptocurrency and profited from crypto speculation over the next couple of years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

The fines were levied under a 1996 law, the Helms-Burton Act, which allowed any American whose assets had been expropriated by the Castro government to sue those who profited from their use.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

And this vision had had a certain hold even on the groups who actually profited by each historic change.

From "1984" by George Orwell

A bull call spread involves purchasing a lower-strike VIX call and selling a higher-strike one with the aim of profiting if the index rises.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

“Greg Kading is profiting off Duane Davis’s life story,” Palal said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

In the book, locals blame Tyler for profiting off their stories in his songwriting, and they wonder, “Where’s our cut?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Energy majors are profiting also from their trades as oil and gas futures swing between big gains and losses on the war's latest headlines.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Joe had come up with a scheme for profiting from the arrival of these throngs in his father’s new neighborhood.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• acquisition
• benefit
• bottom line
• earnings
• goods
• harvest
• income
• interest
• output
• percentage
• proceeds
• product
• production
• receipt
• return
• revenue
• saving
• surplus
• turnout
• value