benefit
Americannoun
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benefits
plural
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something that is advantageous or good; an advantage.
He explained the benefits of public ownership of the postal system.
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a payment or gift, as one made to help someone or given by an employer, an insurance company, or a public agency.
The company offers its employees a pension plan, free health insurance, and other benefits.
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a theatrical performance or other public entertainment to raise money for a charitable organization or cause.
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Archaic. an act of kindness; good deed; benefaction.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
idioms
noun
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something that improves or promotes
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advantage or sake
this is for your benefit
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an allowance paid by the government as for sickness, unemployment, etc, to which a person is entitled under social security or the national insurance scheme
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any similar allowance in various other countries
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(sometimes plural) a payment or series of payments made by an institution, such as an insurance company or trade union, to a person who is ill, unemployed, etc
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a theatrical performance, sports event, etc, to raise money for a charity
verb
Usage
What are other ways to say benefit?
A benefit is something that is advantageous or good. When should you use benefit instead of advantage or profit? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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benefiternoun
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benefitternoun
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self-benefitnoun
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superbenefitnoun
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prebenefitverb
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self-benefitingadjective
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self-benefittingadjective
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unbenefitedadjective
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unbenefitingadjective
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unbenefittedadjective
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unbenefittingadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of benefit
First recorded in 1350–1400; late Middle English noun benefytt, benefett, alteration (with Latinized first syllable) of Middle English b(i)enfet, benefait, from Anglo-French benfet, Middle French bienfait, from Latin benefactum “good deed”; see bene- ( def. ), fact ( def. )
Explanation
A benefit is something that helps you, whether in the form of health insurance provided by an employer, welfare given by the government to those in need, or the benefit of the doubt extended to you by a friend. The Latin bene- "good" is at the heart of the word benefit, which derives from the Latin benefactum "good deed." When attendance at a party or an event raises money for a charity, the event is referred to as a benefit in that charity's honor.
Vocabulary lists containing benefit
Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 11-20
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"The Perils of Indifference," Vocabulary from the speech
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Few states have ponied up the millions to switch to the chip electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards that distribute welfare funds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
It would benefit traditional newspapers as well as other sources of local news, including the growing number of independent nonprofit newsrooms popping up in communities around the state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
"He came with his football - the way he wants to play and the high intensity which I think will benefit me, the club and the way the club wants to play football," added Isak.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Participants improved on one measure of a computerized maze task, but the researchers found no significant benefit on the other cognitive tests or mood measures.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
To them, the land was a commodity to be acquired and sold for the benefit of individuals.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
“Any technology has risks. Any new technology brings both risks and benefits . . . I don’t think Americans should be scared of anything.”
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
Scott Calvert and Dan Frosch trace how Romanian gangs built a global racket around a weakness in America’s benefits system and the efforts to stop them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Malik said that some support is available for cancer patients and their carers, such as financial support from charities, disability benefits and carer's allowance, but it can take time for families to receive benefits support.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
“If the Olympics are coming to town, we want to make sure there are lasting benefits for our communities.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
They formed a union and fought for proper contracts, health benefits, and protections against arbitrary firing, and along with that came a push for fairness in hiring.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
People use it derisively, as if to say that a kid has overly benefited from their advantages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
It would have also benefited from parts of the EU budget, but without full voting rights.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
He said that the yen has benefited from devaluation and the Bank of Japan’s having kept interest rates at or less than zero for some 25 years.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Our Great British Summer Savings also benefited businesses and families from across the country, including Wales.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Gary Edwards certainly wasn’t the only one who had benefited by being a Carter Cowboy.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
That guaranteed the teams with revenue, with brokers benefiting from a markup for popular games but taking the risk that tickets to less popular games would sell at a loss, or not at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
There are those about unusual obsessions, like the Ford executive who kept score of colleagues’ verbal flubs, and odd jobs, like the hairy Utah men benefiting from a booming market for Jesus models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
My partner started doing it and I saw how much he was benefiting from it, so I decided to go and take the course and just loved it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
They returned to work in high numbers after the pandemic, benefiting from a climate in which businesses were offering better benefits, more flexibility and higher pay, which allowed them to move into good jobs.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Since when did Ritu auntie think in terms of benefiting a woman’s career?
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Archer benefitted from two miscues from mid-on, then came back to eventually end the Ali-Abbas last-wicket stand.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Meanwhile, Hosseini noted that logic chips, such as central processing units, have also benefitted from rising average prices, though “recent trends suggest a period of stabilization.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Bitcoin has, along with gold and silver, also benefitted from the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"If we had started this years ago, everyone would have benefitted," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Like most things in the Night Zoo, the terms and conditions held by its indentured workers only benefitted one person.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Chacin said the expanded police presence could help stem violence, but that tackling organized crime required, above all, following the money -- investigating how the proceeds are laundered and who is benefitting most.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, which are closest to the physical bottlenecks of the AI buildout, have been among the sectors benefitting most from the spending boom.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
Michael also overtook Oppenheimer despite Noan's film benefitting from the viral "Barbenheimer" phenomenon in the summer of 2023.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Vance is still benefitting from “Hillbilly Elegy” as well.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
He ever kept himself abreast of the science of the day, and devoted his abilities and energies, con amore, to the benefitting of men’s souls as well as their bodies.
From The Doctor in History, Literature, Folk-Lore, Etc. by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
