benefit
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A good result or help that you get from something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
behnuhfitSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbɛnəfɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An advantage; help or aid from something.
insurance
A payment made in accordance with an insurance policy or a public assistance scheme.
A performance to raise money for a charitable cause
An event, such as a theatrical performance, given to raise funds for some cause.
Intended audience (as for the benefit of).
verb
Derive a benefit from
transitive
To be or to provide a benefit to.
intransitive
To receive a benefit (from); to be a beneficiary.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An advantage; help or aid from something.
Used this way, benefit is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- welfare , more casual, better suited to speech than writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use benefit
- “It was for her benefit. His benefit was free beer.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Concept album compiling a performer's work or work supporting some worthy cause.
A concert given for the benefit of some charitable cause.
Sanction by a religious rite.
An analysis of the cost effectiveness of different alternatives in order to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
A benefit that goes to anyone whose money receipts increase automatically as prices rise.
Insurance or pension money payable to a beneficiary of a deceased.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.