profit

American  

[prof-it] / ˈprɒf ɪt /

noun

• profits
  plural

1. 

   Often profits.

   1. pecuniary gain resulting from the employment of capital in any transaction.

   2. the ratio of such pecuniary gain to the amount of capital invested.

   3. returns, proceeds, or revenue, as from property or investments.

   Synonyms:

   return

   Antonyms:

   loss

2. 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

3. advantage; benefit; gain.

   Synonyms:

   worth, use, avail, good

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verb (used without object)

• profits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• profited,
  past participle,  past
• profiting
  present participle

1. to gain an advantage or benefit.

   He profited greatly from his schooling.

2. to make a profit.

3. to take advantage.

   to profit from the weaknesses of others.

4. to be of service or benefit.

5. to make progress.

verb (used with object)

• profits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• profited,
  past participle,  past
• profiting
  present participle

1. to be of advantage or profit to.

   Nothing profits one so much as a sound education.

   Synonyms:

   help, advance

profit British  

/ ˈprɒfɪt /

noun

1. (often plural) excess of revenues over outlays and expenses in a business enterprise over a given period of time, usually a year

2. the monetary gain derived from a transaction

3. 1. income derived from property or an investment, as contrasted with capital gains

   2. the ratio of this income to the investment or principal

4. economics

   1. the income or reward accruing to a successful entrepreneur and held to be the motivating factor of all economic activity in a capitalist economy

   2. ( as modifier )

      the profit motive

5. a gain, benefit, or advantage

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verb

1. to gain or cause to gain profit

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

Derived Forms

• profiter
  noun
• profitlessness
  noun
• self-profit
  noun
• profitless
  adjective
• proprofit
  adjective
• unprofited
  adjective
• unprofiting
  adjective
• profitlessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• profits
  plural

Participles

• profiting
  present
• profited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• profit
  simple
• profits
  simple
• have profited
  perfect
• has profited
  perfect
• am profiting
  progressive
• are profiting
  progressive
• is profiting
  progressive
• have been profiting
  perfect progressive
• has been profiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• profited
  simple
• had profited
  perfect
• was profiting
  progressive
• were profiting
  progressive
• had been profiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will profit
  simple
• will have profited
  perfect
• will be profiting
  progressive
• will have been profiting
  perfect progressive

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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” ( cf. fact); verb derivative of the noun

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Explanation

A profit is money you make, as opposed to money you lose. Also, anything good profits you — it benefits you. When we talk about profits, we're talking about coming out ahead. Businesses need to make a profit — money — or they'll have to fire employees, cut expenses, and maybe go out of business entirely. If more money is coming in than going out, that's a profit. Profit also means a benefit. For example, you could profit from playing baseball even if you made no money from it. Getting exercise and fun would profit anybody quite a bit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

profit profits profited profiting

McDonald’s MCD -0.98%decrease; down pointing triangle reported higher profit and revenue in the latest quarter, as solid performance across much of its international business offset continually sluggish sales in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Its operating profit, though down 3% on the quarter, also beat projections.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

BMW said Wednesday that it would step up planned job cuts as it reported a drop in third-quarter profit, hit by cutthroat competition and falling demand in China, the world's largest car market.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

The midpoint of the new guidance implies adjusted sales of 306.42 billion Danish kroner and adjusted operating profit of 125.01 billion kroner, which are both 3% ahead of current consensus, the analysts say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

The honor of Chicago’s leading men, who prided themselves on their unsentimental—some might say ruthless—pursuit of maximum profit, was in peril.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Novo started the year warning that profits could fall between 5% and 13%.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

“Their decisions to delay or reduce investments in critical projects are particularly troubling given the billions of dollars in profits reported by their parent companies in recent years,” Perez wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

It’s not that share prices have fallen — the index is still up by double digits in 2026 — but their performance hasn’t kept pace with the increase in expected profits.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

That compared with all companies beating profits in the previous three months, and more than 80 percent topping on sales.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

The idea is to hire a driver to take passengers around Otavalo, and then divide the profits.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

Several heads of state of ex-colonies have requested an apology for colonization and the transatlantic slave trade, which profited British royals for centuries.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

Further, even among the few rental owners that profited, many found the time, effort, risk and aggravation were not worth the modest after-tax net of all costs returns.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Senate candidate, last month opened an investigation into LinkedIn, which he said has advertised and profited from fake job ads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

He claimed the women had profited from selling dozens of his daughter's items at auctions in the US in 2021 and 2023, accusing them of having "deliberately concealed" their sale.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

And this vision had had a certain hold even on the groups who actually profited by each historic change.

From "1984" by George Orwell

On October 14, MBL and NRK had also threatened to sue Meta, accusing the American giant of profiting from fraudulent advertisements impersonating them in order to defraud internet users.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Representatives for the trust have argued Reiner is barred from accessing the fund due to California’s so-called Slayer Statute, which blocks convicted killers from profiting from their crimes in various ways, including through inheritance claims.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

As the podcast gained momentum, and Levine chatted with experts and listeners, he developed a hunch: Perhaps this young woman was the daughter of someone profiting from Europe’s vast economic power over its colonies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

The companies giving evidence to the committee rejected the suggestion they were profiting from phone thefts.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

“No more profiting off my policies, Mr. Vega. Okay?”

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

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Related Words

• acquisition
• benefit
• bottom line
• earnings
• goods
• harvest
• income
• interest
• output
• percentage
• proceeds
• product
• production
• receipt
• return
• revenue
• saving
• surplus
• turnout
• value

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