benefit
something that is advantageous or good; an advantage: He explained the benefits of public ownership of the postal system.
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.
a theatrical performance or other public entertainment to raise money for a charitable organization or cause.
Archaic. an act of kindness; good deed; benefaction.
to do good to; be of service to: a health program to benefit everyone.
to derive benefit or advantage; profit; make improvement: He has never benefited from all that experience.
Idioms about benefit
for someone's benefit, so as to produce a desired effect in another's mind: He wasn't really angry; that was just an act for his girlfriend's benefit.
Origin of benefit
1Other words for benefit
Other words from benefit
- ben·e·fit·er, ben·e·fit·ter, noun
- pre·ben·e·fit, verb, pre·ben·e·fit·ed or pre·ben·e·fit·ted, pre·ben·e·fit·ing or pre·ben·e·fit·ting.
- self-ben·e·fit, noun
- self-ben·e·fit·ing, self-ben·e·fit·ting, adjective
- su·per·ben·e·fit, noun
- un·ben·e·fit·ed, un·ben·e·fit·ted, adjective
- un·ben·e·fit·ing, un·ben·e·fit·ting, adjective
Words Nearby benefit
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use benefit in a sentence
The risks of opening are uncertain, but the benefits are clear.
I’m an epidemiologist and a dad. Here’s why I think schools should reopen. | Benjamin P. Linas | July 9, 2020 | VoxOne benefit of this setup, called a “stepped wedge trial,” is that it doesn’t relegate one block of individuals into a control group that goes without training for the duration of the study.
There’s little evidence showing which police reforms work | Sujata Gupta | July 9, 2020 | Science NewsUnnecessary state occupational licenses—often costly, time-consuming, and offering little benefit to consumers—should be eliminated.
There is one additional Flex 5G feature that sets it apart from competitors, and is both a big benefit and a big downside.
Praising the benefits of physical exercise helps little when jogging in a nearby neighborhood could cost your life.
These 5 numbers tell you everything you need to know about racial disparities in health care | matthewheimer | July 8, 2020 | Fortune
Two-thirds of those who likely to benefit from the new policy are Mexican.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting | Ruben Navarrette Jr. | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTNot for the benefit of the harasser, of course, but for your own safety.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism | Arthur Chu | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen the audience laughed he added that, “They think freedom would benefit them but they were cheated.”
50 Shades of Iran: The Mullahs’ Kinky Fantasies about Sex in the West | IranWire, Shima Sharabi | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd in either case, “the significant benefit from allowing Wi-Fi hotspots outweighs these concerns.”
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security | Kyle Chayka | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Hence, there might be a net benefit, at least to some females, of breeding within the natal group,” the researchers speculate.
Mongooses, Meerkats, and Ants, Oh My! Why Some Animals Keep Mating All in the Family | Helen Thompson | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs he walked back to his hotel, his head was full of plans for the girl's transient pleasure and lasting benefit.
Rosemary in Search of a Father | C. N. WilliamsonMr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
These oral inanities only served to make Lyn give me the benefit of a look of amused wonder.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairOnce he permitted himself a digression, that he might point a moral for the benefit of his servant.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniThis lesson in figures is given for the benefit of those who have not yet mastered Numeric Thinking.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
British Dictionary definitions for benefit
/ (ˈbɛnɪfɪt) /
something that improves or promotes
advantage or sake: this is for your benefit
British
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
any similar allowance in various other countries
(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
a theatrical performance, sports event, etc, to raise money for a charity
to do or receive good; profit
Origin of benefit
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with benefit
see give the benefit.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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