Benefit
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An advantage; help or aid from something. countable, uncountable
"She can't read, so the voice recording was made for her benefit."
- 2 something that aids or promotes well-being wordnet
- 3 A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme. countable, uncountable
- 4 a performance to raise money for a charitable cause wordnet
- 5 An event, such as a theatrical performance, given to raise funds for some cause. countable, uncountable
"Gore Vidal […] will be sharing his wit and wisdom at the Arlington Street Church on Wednesday, April 5th at 7:00. The appearance is a benefit for the Boston/Boise Committee and the tickets are priced at $5."
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- 6 financial assistance in time of need wordnet
- 7 beneficence; liberality countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The Birds, that liue i'th field / On the vvilde Benefit of nature, liue / Happier then vve; for they may chooſe their Mates, / And carroll their ſvveet pleaſures to the Spring: […]"
- 8 Intended audience (as for the benefit of). countable, uncountable
"The whole scene was staged for his benefit, and it completely fooled him."
- 1 To be or to provide a benefit to. transitive
"[…] I will repent of the good; wherewith I saide I would benefite them."
- 2 derive a benefit from wordnet
- 3 To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary. intransitive
"Diesel maintenance schedules are benefiting from work done on the magnificent Hilger & Watts electronic spectrograph for oil analysis, which detects minute quantities of metals in samples of used lubricating oil; [...]."
- 4 be beneficial for wordnet
Example
More examples"You should read such books as will benefit you."
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.
Related phrases
More for "benefit"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.