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profit

[ prof-it ]
/ ˈprɒf ɪt /
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See synonyms for: profit / profiting / profits on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to be of advantage or profit to: Nothing profits one so much as a sound education.
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Origin of profit

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English <Middle French <Latin prōfectus progress, profit, equivalent to prō-pro-1 + -fec-, combining form of facere to make, do1 + -tus suffix of v. action; (v.) Middle English profiten, derivative of the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM profit

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH profit

profit , prophet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use profit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for profit

profit
/ (ˈprɒfɪt) /

noun
(often plural) excess of revenues over outlays and expenses in a business enterprise over a given period of time, usually a year
the monetary gain derived from a transaction
  1. income derived from property or an investment, as contrasted with capital gains
  2. the ratio of this income to the investment or principal
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
a gain, benefit, or advantage
verb
to gain or cause to gain profit

Derived forms of profit

profiter, nounprofitless, adjective

Word Origin for profit

C14: from Latin prōfectus advance, from prōficere to make progress; see proficient
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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