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Definition of profit
(Entry 1 of 2)
profit
verbDefinition of profit (Entry 2 of 2)
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Other Words from profit
Noun
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adjective
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adverb
Synonyms for profit
Synonyms: Noun
earnings, gain, lucre, net, payoff, proceeds, return
Synonyms: Verb
advantage, avail, benefit, help, serve
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Examples of profit in a Sentence
Noun
The company made a profit this year. Profits are up from last year. There was a rise in profits this year. The profits from CD sales were donated to charity. The organization is not run for profit. The film made $1,000,000 in profit. The book can be read with profit by anyone who wants to understand how the system works.Verb
It would profit him to take some computer classes. The company has profited by selling its products online. He profited greatly from his investments. The island profits from tourism.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
This has pushed big banks to hunt for profits in other business lines. — John Detrixhe, Quartz, "Low interest rates could be a “Blockbuster Video moment” for the world’s biggest banks," 3 Sep. 2019 Booths with games & prizes, free musical entertainment, Bouncy House, food and information on community non-profits are all part of the festival. — Luann Gibbs, Cincinnati.com, "Things to do this week in Cincinnati: Aug. 26-Sept. 2," 26 Aug. 2019 American Airlines, which has scrapped 115 or so flights a day, reckons that full-year profits will be $350m lower as a result. — The Economist, "Boeing’s troubles cost the aerospace industry $4bn a quarter," 22 Aug. 2019 Since 2014, corporate profits have mostly been flat. — Stephen Gandel, CBS News, "Fading corporate profits heighten U.S. recession fears," 22 Aug. 2019 But more often than not cultural dissonance was the result, especially when profits were not immediately forthcoming and both sides searched for the reason. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: ‘American Factory’ manufactures insight into U.S.-Chinese collaboration," 20 Aug. 2019 Combined with an increase in revenue per mile of nearly 1%, the pretax profit of U.S. airlines was 9.3% in the first half, up from 7.2% a year earlier, the group said. — David Koenig, chicagotribune.com, "Airlines expect to set Labor Day records. If you hate crowded flights, one day looks especially bleak.," 20 Aug. 2019 The profits were his: the only money John paid to the Black Axe was the roughly 10,000 naira in dues, collected each semester. — Sean Williams, Harper's magazine, "The Black Axe," 19 Aug. 2019 And for companies like his, those profits can be lucrative. — Geoff Dembicki, Scientific American, "Companies May Limit Life-saving Climate Data to Clients that Can Pay," 15 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
While fads bubble up organically, management fashions are manufactured and promulgated by consultants and business schools who profit from their adoption. — Oliver Staley, Quartz at Work, "Whatever happened to Six Sigma?," 3 Sep. 2019 This country has never had a president who could profit from a personal business empire while in the White House. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Trump’s Latest Get-Rich-Quick Scheme," 26 Aug. 2019 And any notion of going after higher-ups who profit from trafficking, including international crime figures bringing women from overseas, never materialized. — USA Today, "Sex trafficking is behind the lucrative illicit massage business. Why police can't stop it.," 30 July 2019 The question at that point becomes who profits the most. — Jon Tayler, SI.com, "Why Isn't Mookie Betts a Household Name? It's Complicated," 16 July 2019 But our secondary targets are those people who profited from the crime that he was killed over or facilitated the money laundering for those people. — Kristin Broughton, WSJ, "Financier Bill Browder Plays the Long Game to Expose Russian Money-Laundering," 27 June 2019 Those who profit from school bonds — the construction industry, labor unions, bond campaign consultants and bond attorneys, for example — will almost certainly back the new bill. — Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, The Mercury News, "Editorial: What California school bond lobby wants hidden from voters," 23 June 2019 This is a guy who admitted guilt on two federal counts, a guy who profited off people who broke the law. — John Archibald | [email protected], al.com, "Convicted sheriff gets privileges his inmates didn’t," 23 June 2019 There is a crisis at our southern border with a mass influx of aliens lured by the lies of human smugglers who profit without regard for human life or well-being. — Rick Jervis, USA TODAY, "Two more migrants die in US custody after crossing Mexico border," 4 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'profit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for profit
profit
nounFinancial Definition of profit
What It Is
Profit is the positive gain remaining for a business after all costs and expenses have been deducted from total sales. Profit is also referred to as the bottom line, net profit or net earnings.
How It Works
The formula for profit is:
Total Sales - Total Expenses = Profit
Here is some information about Company XYZ for last year:
Using the formula and the information above, we can calculate that Company XYZ's profit was:
$2,000,000 - $1,000,000 - $50,000 - $95,000 = $855,000
Why It Matters
Profit is one of the most important measurements in determining the health and success of a business. However, the measurement of profit can vary and should be considered with other factors.
For example, profit varies greatly from company to company and from industry to industry. Because companies vary in size, it is often more appropriate to consider profit as a percentage of sales (profit margin) when comparing one company to another. As well, varying accounting methods can greatly influence profit, and these changes may have little to do with a company's actual operations.
Changes in profit are the subject of much analysis. In general, high or rising profits are indicative of a successful business while low profits could suggest a myriad of problems, including inadequacies in customer or expense management.
Source: Investing Answers