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:
The company’s new CPU offering should benefit from growing adoption of AI agents like Meta’s Muse, he says, adding that Meta is Arm’s chief customer for the CPU.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Rather than assuming that a medication will benefit everyone equally, researchers hope to identify the people most likely to respond.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
For CVS, a looming flash point involves its pharmacy benefit manager, Caremark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
"Future broadcasters and talent will benefit from this forever, I'm super gassed."
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Regiomontanus was one of the first to benefit from the supply of ancient Greek texts that reached Italy after the fall of Constantinople.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Labour ministers have been keen to talk up the potential economic benefits of the agreement, which could be announced at a summit later this month.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
When Canva announced it was laying off 22% of its staff on Tuesday, the severance package included unusual benefits for former employees.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Longer and larger studies are needed to determine whether the findings translate into lasting health benefits or changes in cardiovascular disease risk.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
To have any hope of winning over the public, Powell McCormick said, the AI industry will have to get much better at talking about its product and the potential societal benefits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
As much as I valued education and was experiencing the benefits of mine, I didn’t want my girls’ lives to be endangered.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Barrera benefited from more than $9 million in independent campaign spending in support of his election by the California Teachers Assn., or CTA, which he said was instrumental in helping him get his message out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Lufthansa said it benefited from robust demand across all segments, particularly for premium tickets and on routes to Asia and North America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The UK royal family benefited from the trade but Charles is politically neutral and is not expected to offer an apology.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
They have mostly benefited people like me — high-earning workers with big retirement accounts who work in big cities along the coast.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2026
The adventure of the night does not seem to have harmed her; on the contrary, it has benefited her, for she looks better this morning than she has done for weeks.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Its versatility could also allow it to be incorporated into several types of dental products, potentially benefiting patients of different ages with enamel erosion, tooth sensitivity, or other problems involving exposed dentin.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
"The economy is doing well, but not everybody's benefiting equally," said Daco.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
The company said it was benefiting from stronger personalizations than initially expected, lower currency headwinds and newer, more profitable models.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Verstappen benefiting from the internal battle to take his third win in four races.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Since when did Ritu auntie think in terms of benefiting a woman’s career?
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Both producers posted a sharp increase in third-quarter earnings as their oil refining units benefitted from a spike in fuel prices related to war-related disruptions in Middle East and Russian exports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Not all families who benefitted from slavery, however, have agreed with the Heirs group approach.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
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
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
Stanford researchers concluded last year that this reform and a similar one in Utah have spurred innovation in legal services, with consumers benefitting and lawyers remaining central to the ABS entities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
A health board is continuing to pay money to a university research centre several months after a critical report which said the payments were not directly benefitting patients.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
Accelerating demand for traditional and AI servers, as well as storage and networking equipment, is benefitting both Dell and HPE, Mulberry said in emailed comments.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Meanwhile, groups such as his are benefitting from the government brain drain.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
The extension and enforcement of proper game laws would benefit sport directly, while indirectly benefitting all the other interests.
From Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador An Address Presented by Lt.-Colonel William Wood, F.R.S.C. before the Second Annual Meeting of the Commission of Conservation at Quebec, January, 1911 by William Charles Henry Wood
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