BENEFIT (benefitted, benefitting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: benefitted    , benefitting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does benefit mean? 

• BENEFIT (noun)
  The noun BENEFIT has 3 senses:

1. financial assistance in time of need

2. something that aids or promotes well-being

3. a performance to raise money for a charitable cause

  Familiarity information: BENEFIT used as a noun is uncommon.

• BENEFIT (verb)
  The verb BENEFIT has 2 senses:

1. derive a benefit from

2. be beneficial for

  Familiarity information: BENEFIT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BENEFIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Financial assistance in time of need

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("benefit" is a kind of...):

payment (a sum of money paid or a claim discharged)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "benefit"):

stock option (a benefit given by a company to an employee in the form of an option to buy stock in the company at a discount or at a fixed price)

cost-of-living benefit (a benefit that goes to anyone whose money receipts increase automatically as prices rise)

death benefit (insurance or pension money payable to a beneficiary of a deceased)

disability benefit (insurance benefits paid in case of disability)

sick benefit; sickness benefit (money paid (by the government) to someone who is too ill to work)

fringe benefit; perk; perquisite (an incidental benefit awarded for certain types of employment (especially if it is regarded as a right))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Something that aids or promotes well-being

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

benefit; welfare

Context example:

for the benefit of all

Hypernyms ("benefit" is a kind of...):

good; goodness (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "benefit"):

advantage; reward (benefit resulting from some event or action)

interest; sake (a reason for wanting something done)

Derivation:

beneficial (promoting or enhancing well-being)

benefit (derive a benefit from)

benefit (be beneficial for)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A performance to raise money for a charitable cause

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("benefit" is a kind of...):

performance; public presentation (a dramatic or musical entertainment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "benefit"):

benefit concert (a concert given for the benefit of some charitable cause)

• BENEFIT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they benefit    ... he / she / it benefits   
Past simple: benefited    / benefitted   
Past participle: benefited    / benefitted   
-ing form: benefiting    / benefitting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Derive a benefit from

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

benefit; gain; profit

Context example:

She profited from his vast experience

Hypernyms (to "benefit" is one way to...):

acquire; get (come into the possession of something concrete or abstract)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "benefit"):

cash in on (take advantage of or capitalize on)

profiteer (make an unreasonable profit, as on the sale of difficult to obtain goods)

capitalise; capitalize; take advantage (draw advantages from)

pyramid (enlarge one's holdings on an exchange on a continued rise by using paper profits as margin to buy additional amounts)

clear; net; sack; sack up (make as a net profit)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

benefit (something that aids or promotes well-being)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be beneficial for

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

benefit; do good

Context example:

This will do you good

Hypernyms (to "benefit" is one way to...):

aid; help (improve the condition of)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

beneficent (doing or producing good)

benefit (something that aids or promotes well-being)

 Context examples 

Attempts to improve on this treatment by further lowering body temperature or increasing the duration of cooling were of no additional benefit.

(Longer cooling, lower temperature no improvement for infant oxygen deprivation, NIH)

Norton nodded, but Hamilton gave it for the benefit of the rest.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

“This détour has been entirely for our benefit, then?” said Holmes.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Stimulation of GABA(B) receptor activity, modulation of Glu receptor activity, and inhibition of NMDA receptor activity may be of benefit in managing neuropathic pain.

(Baclofen/amitriptyline/ketamine gel, NCI Thesaurus)

It may even have health benefits, including reducing your risk of certain heart problems.

(Alcohol, NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)

The tallest organisms were surrounded by the largest clusters of offspring, suggesting that the benefit of height was not more food, but a greater chance of colonising an area.

(Why life on Earth first got big, University of Cambridge)

If you are already married, your spouse will do well, and you will benefit, too.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

'Betacyanin adds another benefit to a plant already loaded with phytonutrients, making spinach a true ''super food,"'

(World's First True Red Spinach Variety Released, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

The result is a nutritionally rich food that could benefit millions worldwide, while also reducing the cost of animal feed.

(US Researchers Genetically Modify Corn to Boost Nutritional Value, VOA News)

However, some hospitals preferentially give fresh red blood cells to critically ill children, even though clinical studies supporting the benefits of this practice have been lacking.

(Fresh red blood cell transfusions do not help critically ill children more than older cells, National Institutes of Health)