benefit

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An advantage; help or aid from something.
  2. A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
  3. An event, such as a theatrical performance, given to raise funds for some cause.
  4. beneficence; liberality
  5. Intended audience (as for the benefit of).
verb
  1. To be or to provide a benefit to.
  2. To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.

Pronunciation

/ˈbɛn.ɪ.fɪt/ bĕn'əfĭt /ˈbɛn.ə.fɪt/ en-us-benefit.ogg /ˈbɛnəfɪʈ/

Word forms

benefit benefits benefite benefiting benefitting benefited benefitted

Etymology

From Late Middle English benefytt, benefett, alteration (due to Latin bene-) of benfet, bienfet, bienfait (“good or noble deed”), from Anglo-Norman benfet (“well-done”), Middle French bienfait, from Old French bienfet, bienfait (“foredeal, favour”), from past participle of bienfaire (“to do good, do well”), from bien (“well”) + faire (“to do”), modelled after Latin benefactum (“good deed”). More at benefactor.

Derived words

beneficial benefit cliff benefiter benefitless benifit co-benefit benefitable benefit association benefit club benefit corporation benefit-cost analysis benefit-cost ratio benefit dollar benefit in kind benefit of clergy benefit of doubt benefit of inventory benefit of the doubt benefit principle benefits coordinator benefit segmentation benefit society benefit tourism bennies cafeteria benefit child benefit child tax benefit cobenefit core benefit cost-benefit analysis cost benefit analysis death benefit defined benefit disbenefit elective benefit electronic benefit transfer employee benefit equivalent annual benefit family benefit friend with benefits fringe benefit in benefit income-related benefit injury benefit marginal benefit maternity benefit means-tested benefit non-pecuniary benefit nonstatutory fringe benefit nonwage benefit private benefit risk-benefit sickness benefit state benefit stranded benefit supplementary benefit survivor benefit unbenefited unbenefiting unemployment benefit

Translations

Arabic: فَائِدَة Avar: пайда Azerbaijani: fayda Bengali: লাভ Bengali: মুনাফা Bulgarian: изгода Bulgarian: печалба Finnish: etu Finnish: hyöty French: bénéfice German: Nutzen Hindi: लाभ Hindi: हित Hungarian: haszon Hungarian: előny Italian: beneficio Italian: profitto Northern Kurdish: fayîde Kyrgyz: пайда Lü: ᦎᦱᦡᦲ Malay: faedah Old English: fremu Old English: nytt Persian: فائده Polish: korzyść Polish: beneficjum Russian: вы́года Spanish: beneficio Tajik: фойда Tatar: файда Turkish: fayda Ottoman Turkish: فائده Urdu: فائدہ Uzbek: foyda Yaghnobi: фойда Zazaki: fayde
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.