# benefit

Pronunciation: US say "BEN-uh-fit" /ˈbɛn.ə.fɪt/; UK say "BEN-i-fit" /ˈbɛn.ɪ.fɪt/

## Noun

1. An advantage gained from something, or the help or aid it provides.
   - Simple: Help, or something good that you get from a thing or action.
   - _The new software offers considerable benefit to small businesses managing tight budgets._
   - _Students gained little benefit from cramming the night before the exam._
3. A payment made under the terms of an insurance policy or a public assistance program.
   - Simple: Money paid to someone under an insurance policy or through a government support program.
   - _The policy pays a death benefit to the surviving spouse._
   - _Workers who are laid off can apply for unemployment benefits through the state._
4. Something an employer gives workers on top of their pay, for example health coverage, paid leave, or a retirement plan.
   - Simple: Something extra that a job gives you besides your pay, like health insurance or paid vacation.
   - _The company offers generous benefits, including a pension plan and paid parental leave._
   - _The new contract adds a dental benefit for every full-time employee._
5. Used in for the benefit of and for someone's benefit to name whom a remark or action is aimed at, as the audience it is meant to inform or impress.
   - Simple: Used in for the benefit of or for someone's benefit to say who words or actions are really meant for.
   - _The captain repeated the instructions for the benefit of anyone who had missed the first announcement._
   - _Her dramatic sigh was entirely for the benefit of the cameras._
6. An event, such as a concert or theatrical performance, held to raise money for a cause or charity.
   - Simple: A show or other event held to raise money for a good cause.
   - _Local bands played a benefit at the old firehouse on Saturday, raising enough money to rebuild the town's flooded library._
   - _Several comedians performed without pay at a benefit for the children's hospital._

## Verb

2. To help someone or something or give them an advantage; also, to gain an advantage or be helped.
   - Simple: To help someone or something, or to get something good from it.
   - _Lower fuel costs benefit airlines and passengers alike._
   - _The scholarship program has benefited hundreds of first-generation college students._

## Noun

7. Beneficence; active generosity or liberality shown in doing good to other people. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Kindness and generosity shown by doing good for other people.

## Origin

This comes from Late Middle English benefytt, an alteration of forms like bienfait ('good or noble deed'), which passed through Anglo-Norman and Middle French from Old French bienfet, bienfait ('favor'). This was the past participle of bienfaire ('to do good'), formed from bien ('well') plus faire ('to do'), and modelled after Latin benefactum ('good deed').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/benefit (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).