beneficiary

American  

[ben-uh-fish-ee-er-ee, -fish-uh-ree] / ˌbɛn əˈfɪʃ iˌɛr i, -ˈfɪʃ ə ri /

noun

• beneficiaries
  plural

1. a person or group that receives benefits, profits, or advantages.

2. a person designated as the recipient of funds or other property under a will, trust, insurance policy, etc.

3. Ecclesiastical. the holder of a benefice.

---

beneficiary British  

/ ˌbɛnɪˈfɪʃərɪ /

noun

1. a person who gains or benefits in some way from something

2. law a person entitled to receive funds or other property under a trust, will, or insurance policy

3. the holder of an ecclesiastical or other benefice

4. a person who receives government assistance

   social security beneficiary

---

adjective

1. of or relating to a benefice or the holder of a benefice

beneficiary Cultural  

1. The recipient of funds, property, or other benefits from an insurance policy, will, trust, or other settlement.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prebeneficiary
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beneficiaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of beneficiary

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin beneficiārius, from benefici(um) benefice + -ārius -ary

Explanation

A beneficiary is simply the recipient of money or other benefits. So when your big sister finally moves away to college and you get to move into her bigger bedroom? You become a lucky beneficiary. In other words — if you benefit from something, you are a beneficiary. This word pops up most commonly when people are creating their wills and trusts — you have to choose beneficiaries as the people who will get what you have when you die. But it isn't always so morbid. You can be the beneficiary of someone's kindness, the beneficiary of a good education, or even the beneficiary of your own hard work.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beneficiary beneficiaries

"The youth have a big role to play in the journey towards a developed India... the greatest beneficiary of a developed India is the youth of the country."

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Nasarenko said he was the beneficiary of a 2018 law that grants prison inmates who had served 25 years continuously and were over 60 years old an opportunity to seek elder parole.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Medicaid cannot recover certain assets from a deceased beneficiary’s estate if the beneficiary is survived by a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child of any age.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

It may also apply to some properties owned by trusts or LLCs even if a beneficiary or member is a primary resident.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The salesman had told Hale that because he wasn’t Roan’s relative, he could become his beneficiary only if he were his creditor.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Nearly every state in the U.S. has a version of California’s slayer statute, which effectively disinherits beneficiaries who’ve “feloniously and intentionally” killed their benefactors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Some of the artificial intelligence boom’s biggest beneficiaries can cash in whether open models proliferate or not.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

This week: The Treasury Department announced it’s killing an anti-corruption measure that requires shell companies to identify their beneficiaries.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

Property owned by an irrevocable trust—a structure used to move property outside of an individual’s taxable estate—could be subject to the tax even if one of its beneficiaries lives there full time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

PIH staff has begun to focus on methods of structuring aid and loans so that in the future the sick and indigent will be the primary beneficiaries.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• heir
• recipient