profit
Americannoun
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Often profits.
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pecuniary gain resulting from the employment of capital in any transaction.
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the ratio of such pecuniary gain to the amount of capital invested.
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returns, proceeds, or revenue, as from property or investments.
- Synonyms:
- return
- Antonyms:
- loss
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the monetary surplus left to a producer or employer after deducting wages, rent, cost of raw materials, etc..
The company works on a small margin of profit.
- Synonyms:
- net income
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advantage; benefit; gain.
verb (used without object)
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to gain an advantage or benefit.
He profited greatly from his schooling.
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to make a profit.
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to take advantage.
to profit from the weaknesses of others.
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to be of service or benefit.
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to make progress.
verb (used with object)
noun
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(often plural) excess of revenues over outlays and expenses in a business enterprise over a given period of time, usually a year
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the monetary gain derived from a transaction
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income derived from property or an investment, as contrasted with capital gains
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the ratio of this income to the investment or principal
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economics
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the income or reward accruing to a successful entrepreneur and held to be the motivating factor of all economic activity in a capitalist economy
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( as modifier )
the profit motive
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a gain, benefit, or advantage
verb
Usage
What are other ways to say profit? A profit is a gain or valuable return. How does it differ from an advantage or a benefit? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- profiter noun
- profitless adjective
- profitlessly adverb
- profitlessness noun
- proprofit adjective
- self-profit noun
- unprofited adjective
- unprofiting adjective
Etymology
Origin of profit
First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the noun) Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin prōfectus “progress, profit,” noun use of past participle of prōficere “to make progress,” from prō- pro- 1 + -ficere, combining form of facere “to do, make” ( fact ); verb derivative of the noun
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.
Palmer suggests there may have been a blurring of royal role and personal profit.
From BBC
LegalZoom plans to use AI to improve efficiency and increase its profit margins.
From Barron's
The problem is that managements’ forecasts for profits were slightly disappointing, making it look as if the returns on those investments would be too low.
From Barron's
In staples, a sector notorious for razor-thin profit margins and constant logistical challenges, we could be seeing stock prices reflect the expected benefit from both AI-led efficiencies and a reduced reliance on expensive enterprise software.
From Barron's
OpenAI and Anthropic are losing enormous amounts of money, yet are given valuations as if they were real companies making real profits.
From MarketWatch
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.
