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profit

n. · v.
US //ˈpɹɑfət// UK //pɹˈɒfɪt// prof·it
  1. 1 financial gain (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Accounting

    the money a business keeps after paying for all its costs and taxes.

    the surplus of revenue remaining after all operating expenses, taxes, and costs have been deducted. Often used uncountably for the concept and countably for specific sums.

    Example

    The company made a huge profit this year because their new phone was very popular.

    Example

    After accounting for the unexpected rise in raw material costs, the quarterly profit was significantly lower than the board had originally projected.
  2. 2 general benefit (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Literary

    an advantage or useful result you get from an activity.

    a physical, mental, or social benefit derived from an undertaking. This sense is often found in formal or literary contexts.

    Example

    There is little profit in arguing with someone who will not listen to facts.

    Example

    The scholars debated the issue for hours, but they found little practical profit in the abstract theories being presented.
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  1. 3 to gain an advantage (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to get a benefit or an advantage from a situation.

    to derive a benefit or advantage from a particular circumstance or action. Often used with the preposition 'from'.

    Example

    Many local shops profited from the large number of tourists visiting the town.

    Example

    Investors who had anticipated the market shift profited handsomely from their early acquisition of technology stocks.
  2. 4 to be useful to someone (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Literary

    to be helpful or useful to a person.

    to be of service or benefit to someone. This transitive use is increasingly rare in modern speech and carries a formal or biblical tone.

    Example

    It profits a man nothing to gain the world but lose his soul.

    Example

    The king realised that his aggressive foreign policy would not profit his subjects in the long term.
Origin

From Middle English profit, from Old French profit (Modern French profit), from Latin prōfectus (“advance, progress, growth, increase, profit”), from proficiō (“to go forward, advance, make progress, be profitable or useful”). Doublet of profect.

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