Profit

Pronunciation

enPR: prÅf'it, IPA: /ËˆprÉ’fÉ™t/Homophones: prophet
Rhymes: -É’fÉªt

Origin

From Middle English profit, from Old French profit (French: profit)., from Latin profectus ("advance, progress, growth, increase, profit"), from proficere ("to go forward, advance, make progress, be profitable or useful"); see proficient.

Full definition of profit

Noun

profit

(plural profits)

Total income or cash flow minus expenditures. The money or other benefit a non-governmental organization or individual receives in exchange for products and services sold at an advertised price.

RamblerLet no man anticipate uncertain profits.
2013-06-22, T time, The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies. … current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate … â€œstateless incomeâ€: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled.

(dated, literary) Benefit, positive result obtained.
Reading such an enlightening book on the subject was of much profit to his studies.

Bible, 1 Corinthians vii. 35This I speak for your own profit.
Shakespeareif you dare do yourself a profit and a right

(legal) In property law, a nonpossessory interest in land whereby a party is entitled to enter the land of another for the purpose of taking the soil or the substance of the soil (coal, oil, minerals, and in some jurisdictions timber and game).

Usage notes

Regarding the income sense, when the difference is negative the term loss is correct. Negative profit does appear in microeconomics.

Profit by a government agency is called a surplus.

Synonyms

gain

Antonyms

loss

Verb

(transitive) To benefit (somebody), be of use to (somebody).

Bible, Hebrews iv. 2The word preached did not profit them.
DrydenIt is a great means of profiting yourself, to copy diligently excellent pieces and beautiful designs.

(intransitive, construed with from) To benefit, gain.
(intransitive, construed with from) To take advantage of, exploit, use.