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beneficiary

[ben-uh-fish-ee-er-ee, -fish-uh-ree]
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noun, plural ben·e·fi·ci·ar·ies.
  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.
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Origin of beneficiary

1605–15; < Latin beneficiārius, equivalent to benefici(um) benefice + -ārius -ary
Related formspre·ben·e·fi·ci·ar·y, noun, plural pre·ben·e·fi·ci·ar·ies.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for beneficiary

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Why, then, should privileges be conceded to one beneficiary which are denied to all others?

    The Railroad Question

    William Larrabee

  • And to give help you must, first of all, ‘inquire within’—within your beneficiary.

    Dr. Sevier

    George W. Cable

  • It did not intoxicate, but still further sobered, the beneficiary.

    The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte

    William Milligan Sloane

  • The beneficiary was also to carry the sick man to a doctor and to pay all of his debts.

  • And at last a third newspaper announced the name of the beneficiary of the playH.

    Old Mole

    Gilbert Cannan

British Dictionary definitions for beneficiary

beneficiary

noun plural -ciaries
  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. NZ a person who receives government assistancesocial security beneficiary
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adjective
  1. of or relating to a benefice or the holder of a benefice
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for beneficiary

1610s (n.), 1620s (adj.), probably via French bénéficiaire, from Latin beneficiarius "enjoying a favor, privileged," from beneficium (see benefice).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
beneficiary in Culture

beneficiary

[(ben-uh-fish-ee-er-ee, ben-uh-fish-uh-ree)]

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

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.