benefit
noun
ben·e·fit
| \ ˈbe-nə-ˌfit
\
\
Definition of benefit
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: something that produces good or helpful results or effects or that promotes well-being : advantage
discounted prices and other benefits of a museum membership The benefits outweigh the risks of taking the drug. reaping the benefits of their hard work changes that will be to your benefit
b
: useful aid : help
without the benefit of a lawyer
2a
: financial help in time of sickness, old age, or unemployment
is on unemployment benefit a disability benefit a family on benefits
b
: a payment or service provided for under an annuity, pension plan, or insurance policy
collecting his retirement benefits
c
: a service (such as health insurance) or right (as to take vacation time) provided by an employer in addition to wages or salary
The job doesn't pay much, but the benefits are good.
3
: an entertainment or social event to raise funds for a person or cause
holding a benefit to raise money for the school
benefit
verb
benefited\ ˈbe-nə-ˌfi-təd
\
also benefitted;
benefiting
also benefitting
\
also benefitted;
benefiting
also benefitting
Definition of benefit (Entry 2 of 2)
: to be useful or profitable to
tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy held a fund-raiser to benefit her campaign
: to receive help or an advantage : to receive benefit
patients who will benefit from the drug has benefited from his experiences in the military
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from benefit
Verb
benefiter
\ ˈbe-nə-ˌfi-tər
\
noun
\
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for benefit
Synonyms: Noun
advantage, aid, asset, boon, help
Synonyms: Verb
advantage, avail, help, profit, serve
Antonyms: Noun
disadvantage, drawback, encumbrance, hindrance, impediment, minus
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of benefit in a Sentence
Noun
the benefits of fresh air and sunshine A benefit of museum membership is that purchases are discounted. There are many financial benefits to owning your own home. She is just now starting to reap the benefits of all her hard work. The benefits of taking the drug outweigh its risks. I see no benefit in changing the system now. We're lucky to be able to get the full benefit of her knowledge. He began collecting his retirement benefits when he was 65. He began collecting his retirement benefit when he was 65. The job doesn't pay much, but the benefits are good.Verb
The new plan may benefit many students. medicines that benefit thousands of people The politician held a fund-raiser to benefit his campaign. Some critics say that the tax cuts only benefit wealthy people. He'll benefit by having experiences I never did.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The likelihood of using benefits such as food stamps, housing assistance, and Medi-Cal will soon become factors that can impact whether an individual receives a green card. — Peter Leroe-munoz, The Mercury News, "Opinion: How turning our backs on immigrants hurts Bay Area," 6 Sep. 2019 Similarly, Apple benefits greatly from the inventiveness of millions of app developers, first when their apps spur customers to keep using iPhones — and again if Apple takes their most successful ideas and copies them. — Reed Albergotti, oregonlive, "How Apple uses its App Store to copy the best ideas," 6 Sep. 2019 This year, Comcast extended the program to cover those who receive benefits from a host of federal assistance programs: Medicaid, SNAP food assistance, and Supplementary Security Income, among others. — Hiawatha Bray, BostonGlobe.com, "Back to school: Internet access is essential these days, and yes, there are affordable options," 3 Sep. 2019 The major benefit of the app is its flexibility, according to the researchers. — Emma Bryce, Quartz, "A new AI-powered smartphone app scans banana crops for early signs of disease," 2 Sep. 2019 Economic and social benefits, for example, such as revenue from hunting and ecotourism to benefit villagers, are increasingly seen as integral to discussions about levels of protection. — National Geographic, "8 takeaways from the most important wildlife event you’ve never heard of," 30 Aug. 2019 And is there any benefit to having two parallel blades, other than slicing through something twice for some reason? — Brian Barrett, WIRED, "New Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Footage Shows Rey Breaking Bad," 26 Aug. 2019 That group raised more than $2 million, solely for Inslee’s benefit, from just a handful of local donors who each gave more than $100,000. — Asia Fields, The Seattle Times, "Gov. Jay Inslee exits presidential race; opponents laud his climate-focused campaign," 22 Aug. 2019 The two economists developed a mathematical model that takes the costs and benefits of both strategies into account. — Laura Kutsch, Scientific American, "Can We Rely on Our Intuition?," 15 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Southern African governments point to their relatively stable elephant populations and say that ivory sales will benefit the people and conservation with profits. — David Mckenzie, CNN, "Some African countries want to tackle a wildlife taboo. Whether to start selling ivory again," 24 Aug. 2019 Huang said he's been intrigued by several small-scale studies that appeared to show terminally-ill patients can benefit from treating their anxiety and depression with mushrooms combined with therapy. — Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, "Magic mushrooms for better health? Psychedelic drugs are having a moment across US," 24 Aug. 2019 The upshot should be that more farmers will benefit from the comfort Mr Chomba received from having something of a safety-net. — The Economist, "The poor, who most need insurance, are least likely to have it," 22 Aug. 2019 Proponents of Warren’s plan might argue that this would benefit workers in the U.S., by saving jobs from unfair overseas competition by countries that abuse their workers and despoil their environments. — Noah Smith, Twin Cities, "Noah Smith: Warren’s trade plan does poor nations no favors," 16 Aug. 2019 On the economic front, plenty of studies show that Americans benefited from increased trade with China. — Jonah Goldberg, National Review, "Maybe Liberty Isn’t a Lost Cause in China," 16 Aug. 2019 Atif Bostic, executive director of the food access nonprofit Uplift Solutions, said the innovative program will benefit those people living in food deserts. — Yesha Callahan, Essence, "Lyft Offering $2.50 Grocery Store Rides In Disadvantaged Philly Neighborhoods," 16 Aug. 2019 That means that everyone would benefit—from a struggling nurse who graduated from a two-year public institution to a fledgling investment banker from an affluent family who borrowed heavily to attend Princeton. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "Arguing the World," 15 Aug. 2019 Climatec Director for Public Sector Ashley Cascio said many RUSD schools could benefit from window replacements but the district had to prioritize those in the worst condition based on budget factors. — Julie Gallant, Ramona Sentinel, "District makes strides in energy upgrades," 15 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'benefit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more