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profit

Pronunciation: /ˈprɒfɪt/

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Definition of profit

noun

1a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something:record pre-tax profits [mass noun]:his eyes brightened at the prospect of profit

2 [mass noun] advantage; benefit:there’s no profit in screaming at referees from the bench

verb (profits, profiting, profited)

[no object]

obtain a financial advantage or benefit:the only people to profit from the episode were the lawyers
obtain an advantage or benefit:not all children would profit from this kind of schooling
[with object] be beneficial to:it would profit us to change our plans

Phrases

at a profit: making more money than is spent buying, operating, or producing something:doing up houses and selling them at a profit

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'advantage, benefit'): from Old French, from Latin profectus 'progress, profit', from proficere 'to advance', from pro- 'on behalf of' + facere 'do'. The verb is from Old French profiter

Spelling rule

Do not double the final consonant when adding endings which begin with a vowel to a word which ends in a vowel plus a consonant, if the stress is not at the end of the word (as in target): (profits, profiting, profited).

profit in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of profit in the US English dictionary

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