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Webster 1913 Edition

Benefit

Ben′e-fit

,
Noun.
[OE.
benefet
,
benfeet
,
bienfet
, F.
bienfait
, fr. L.
benefactum
; bene well (adv. of
bonus
good) +
factum
, p. p. of
facere
to do. See
Bounty
, and
Fact
.]
1.
An act of kindness; a favor conferred.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits
.
Ps. ciii. 2.
2.
Whatever promotes prosperity and personal happiness, or adds value to property; advantage; profit.
Men have no right to what is not for their
benefit
.
Burke.
3.
A theatrical performance, a concert, or the like, the proceeds of which do not go to the lessee of the theater or to the company, but to some individual actor, or to some charitable use.
4.
Beneficence; liberality.
[Obs.]
Webster (1623).
5.
pl.
Natural advantages; endowments; accomplishments.
[R.]
“The benefits of your own country.”
Shak.
Benefit of clergy
.
(Law)
See under
Clergy
.
Syn. – Profit; service; use; avail. See
Advantage
.

Ben′e-fit

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Benefited
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Benefitting
.]
To be beneficial to; to do good to; to advantage; to advance in health or prosperity; to be useful to; to profit.
I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would
benefit
them.
Jer. xviii. 10.

Ben′e-fit

,
Verb.
I.
To gain advantage; to make improvement; to profit;
as, he will
benefit
by the change
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Benefit

BEN'EFIT

,
Noun.
[Primarily from L. beneficium, or benefactum.]
1.
An act of kindness; a favor conferred.
Bless the Lord,O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps.103.
2.
Advantage; profit; a word of extensive use, and expressing whatever contributes to promote prosperity and personal happiness, or add value to property.
Men have no right to what is not for their benefit.
3.
In law, benefit of clergy. [See Clergy.]

BEN'EFIT

,
Verb.
T.
To do good to; to advantage; to advance in health, or prosperity; applied either to persons or things; as, exercise benefits health; trade benefits a nation.

BEN'EFIT

,
Verb.
I.
To gain advantage; to make improvement; as, he has benefited by good advice; that is, he has been benefited.

Definition 2024

benefit

benefit

English

Noun

benefit ‎(plural benefits)

  1. An advantage, help, sake or aid from something.
    It was for her benefit.   His benefit was free beer.‎
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.
  2. A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
  3. An event such as a performance, given to raise funds for some cause.
  4. (obsolete) beneficence; liberality
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Webster (1623) to this entry?)

Derived terms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

See also

Verb

benefit ‎(third-person singular simple present benefits, present participle benefiting or benefitting, simple past and past participle benefited or benefitted)

  1. (transitive) To be or to provide a benefit to.
    • Bible, Jer. xviii. 10
      I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
  2. (intransitive) To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.

Usage notes

  • Benefiting and benefited are more common, with benefitting and benefitted being a minor variant especially in the US.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from English benefit.

Noun

benefit m ‎(invariable)

  1. benefit, advantage

Latin

Verb

benefit

  1. third-person singular present passive indicative of benefaciō

Etymology

From Late Middle English benefytt, benefett, alteration (due to Latin bene-) of Middle English 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 Old French bienfaire ‎(“to do good, do well”), from bien ‎(“well”) + faire ‎(“to do”), modelled after Latin benefactum ‎(“good deed”). More at benefactor.

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈbɛn.ə.fɪt/

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