Wiktionary

benefit

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbɛn.ɪ.fɪt/
  • (US) enPR: bĕn'əfĭt, IPA(key): /ˈbɛn.ə.fɪt/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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benefit (countable and uncountable, plural benefits)

  1. An advantage; help or aid from something.
    She can't read, so the voice recording was made for her benefit.
    Exposure to cutting-edge technologies is one of the benefits of the job.
  2. (insurance) 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.
    • 1978 April 8, Eric Rogers, “People, Places and Flings”, in Gay Community News, page 13:
      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.
  4. (obsolete) beneficence; liberality
  5. Intended audience (as for the benefit of).
    The whole scene was staged for his benefit, and it completely fooled him.
    Since my wife is Canadian, whenever we have dinner with my family, they keep bringing up anything they've heard about Canada lately for her benefit.
    • 2020 April 16, Gary D.D. Morrison, J.S.C., “Succession de Kalimbet Piela c. Obodzinski, 2020 QCCS 1222”, in CanLII‎[1], retrieved 9 May 2021:
      So, if Obodzinski is correct in saying that Mrs. Piela actually signed a document in the coffee shop, in front of witnesses, she staged a scene, pretending that it was the alleged Mandate. The other explanation is that none of this ever took place, and the staging was only a fictitious creation for the benefit of the Court.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Verb

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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.
  2. (intransitive) To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.
    • 1960 June, “Talking of Trains: New B.R. research laboratory”, in Trains Illustrated, page 329:
      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; [...].
    • 2021 January 13, Christian Wolmar, “Read all about London's Cathedrals of Steam”, in RAIL, issue 922, page 63:
      Instead, the grime of the steam years which still discoloured many of the best architectural features Betjeman loved has been cleared away, and several of the stations have benefited from major refurbishments which have greatly improved them.

Usage notes

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  • Benefiting and benefited are more common, with benefitting and benefitted being minor variants, more so in North America.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Italian

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English benefit.

Noun

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benefit m (invariable)

  1. benefit, advantage

Latin

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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benefit

  1. third-person singular present passive indicative of benefaciō
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