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Synonyms

benefit

American  
[ben-uh-fit] / ˈbɛn ə fɪt /

noun

  • benefits
    plural
  1. something that is advantageous or good; an advantage.

    He explained the benefits of public ownership of the postal system.

    Synonyms:
    profit, gain, boon
  2. 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.

  3. a theatrical performance or other public entertainment to raise money for a charitable organization or cause.

  4. Archaic. an act of kindness; good deed; benefaction.


verb (used with object)

benefited, benefitted, benefiting, benefitting
  1. to do good to; be of service to.

    a health program to benefit everyone.

verb (used without object)

benefited, benefitted, benefiting, benefitting
  1. to derive benefit or advantage; profit; make improvement.

    He has never benefited from all that experience.

idioms

  1. 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.

benefit British  
/ ˈbɛnɪfɪt /

noun

  1. something that improves or promotes

  2. advantage or sake

    this is for your benefit

    1. 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

    2. any similar allowance in various other countries

  3. (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

  4. a theatrical performance, sports event, etc, to raise money for a charity

"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

verb

  1. to do or receive good; profit

"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
benefit More Idioms  
  1. see give the benefit.


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

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing benefit

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:

Well, the amount spent on the state pension is set to top £150bn a year, the single most expensive benefit to fund.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Despite the lack of a significant overall benefit, the researchers identified a potentially important finding among participants who entered the trial with more severe hypertension.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

They also said the government was seeking assurance from the UK government that a proposed pilot scheme for £10 a week to each child to support low-income families would not affect families' benefit payments.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

“Just as resource-abundant economies benefit from rising commodity prices, chip-producing economies have benefited from the premium associated with ‘chipflation,’” he says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

He was the one who would benefit the most if I missed the shot.

From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman

"I've always wanted to restore it to be swimmable and to share the benefits with those in the local community," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Gummie supplements are out, oral strips are in, as brands claim they’re a faster way to improve sleep, skin and other benefits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

This approach helped investigators assess whether the electrical stimulation produced benefits beyond those associated with using the device itself.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

If you consider both of those, then after tax, UK retirement benefits would be 54.2% of average UK earnings, compared with an average of 63.2% across wealthy countries.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

They had said this to her as if outlining the terms of a job offer, laying out the benefits package in the most attractive way.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Companies benefited from increased demand among U.S. households and businesses as well as a pickup in export orders.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Safe havens benefited, with the yen rallying against the dollar, helped by strong Japanese inflation data that boosted bets on another interest rate hike.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Analyses conducted by WEHI's genomics and bioinformatics teams revealed that patients with stronger gamma delta T cell signatures were among those who benefited most from immunotherapy.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

Massive new borrowing to fund AI-related infrastructure investments has benefited Blackstone and other private-credit providers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

The hock-shop prospered on the weekly interest money and the suit benefited by being brushed and hung away in camphor where the moths couldn’t get at it.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

The company on Thursday announced better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, once again benefiting from higher activity levels across all of its segments.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

And investors buying Treasurys today could potentially collect 5%-plus income while also benefiting from capital appreciation if yields fall.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

And its strategy for selling them makes it relatively unique among the businesses benefiting most from the world’s unprecedented AI infrastructure build-out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Its work aims to improve understanding of common diseases and translate laboratory discoveries into new approaches to treatment, benefiting patients in Singapore and internationally.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

So have the early researchers, like Dr. Strayer, who were often sailing against headwinds generated by the corporations and profiteers benefiting from connected drivers.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

In speeches at the event Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s governor, and Corey O’Connor, Pittsburgh’s mayor, both spoke of the ways developments from CMU have historically benefitted the city and state.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

The Natural History Museum's director Dr Doug Gurr said although his museum would have benefitted from charging, the sector would have lost out overall.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Bitcoin has, along with gold and silver, also benefitted from the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

"If we had started this years ago, everyone would have benefitted," he said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Although slavery is mostly associated with the American South, the entire country, as it grew, benefitted from the enslavement of people, primarily Africans and African Americans.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

The prime minister's official deputy spokeswoman rejected the claims, stating the police have the government's "full backing" and are benefitting from investment.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Oil-services company Halliburton reported quarterly earnings and revenue growth, benefitting from elevated oil prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Meanwhile, groups such as his are benefitting from the government brain drain.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, which are closest to the physical bottlenecks of the AI buildout, have been among the sectors benefitting most from the spending boom.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

“I suppose,” observes a fourth, “this is what Maddis calls benefitting his country.”

From English Caricaturists and Graphic Humourists of the Nineteenth Century. How they Illustrated and Interpreted their Times. by Graham Everitt

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